2025 Minnesota
8–5 (5–4 Big Ten), coached by P.J. Fleck. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 25 Nebraska 24–6Oct 17
Nebraska was ranked No. 25 and favored to win.
- Most excitingBeat Michigan State 23–20Nov 1
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs Buffalo | W 23–10 | 66% |
| Sep 6 | vs Northwestern State | W 66–0 | 95% |
| Sep 13 | at California | L 14–27 | 49% |
| Sep 27 | vs Rutgers | W 31–28 | 63% |
| Oct 4 | at 1Ohio State | L 3–42 | 17% |
| Oct 11 | vs Purdue | W 27–20 | 79% |
| Oct 17 | vs 25Nebraska | W 24–6 | 59% |
| Oct 25 | at Iowa | L 3–41 | 37% |
| Nov 1 | vs Michigan State | W 23–20 | 78% |
| Nov 14 | at 7Oregon | L 13–42 | 20% |
| Nov 22 | vs Northwestern | L 35–38 | 62% |
| Nov 29 | vs Wisconsin | W 17–7 | 66% |
| Dec 26Bowls & playoff | vs New MexicoRate Bowl | W 20–17 | 50% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat New Mexico 20–17 in the Rate Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
- Record
- 8–5
- Conference
- 5–4 tied for 7th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 299–298
- Coach
- P.J. Fleck
- Elo
- 1583 +4 this season
- SP+ rating
- 1.5 No. 70 of 136; offense No. 94, defense No. 33, special teams No. 123
- SRS
- 0.8 No. 66 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 28% of last season’s EPA, No. 78 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 49 roster talent No. 41 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Greg Harbaugh Jr. and Matt Simon
- Defensive coordinators
- Danny Collins and Nick Monroe
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.04 | 37% | 1.16 | 92nd of 136 |
| Defense | 0.15 | 44% | 1.22 | 92nd of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.05 off 0.14 def | 38% off 43% def | — | 91st off 94th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 43% | 6.3 yds | 8% | 2.80 | 19% |
| Defense | 48% | 8.5 yds | 10% | 2.90 | 19% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 31 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 27 | 18% caused |
CORE rating -7.2, 92nd of 136 (offense -2.9, defense 4.3).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Drake Lindsey QB | 2,382 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Drake Lindsey QB | 18 TD |
| Rushing yards | Darius Taylor RB | 670 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Darius Taylor RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Lemeke Brockington WR | 484 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Javon Tracy WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Maverick Baranowski LB | 102 tkl |
| Sacks | Anthony Smith DL | 12.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | John Nestor DB | 6 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| Emmanuel Karmo LB | ★★★★ | No. 336 |
| Bradley Martino ATH | ★★★★ | No. 384 |
| Jackson Kollock QB | ★★★★ | No. 455 |
| Jay’Quan Stubbs DL | ★★★ | No. 636 |
| Enoch Atewogbola DE | ★★★ | No. 720 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.892 |
| Running backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.874 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Defensive line | 5 | 3.0 | 0.865 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.3 | 0.875 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.865 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.3 | 0.837 |
| Whole class | 22 | 3.1 | 0.863 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2026
The 2026 draft| Rd 7 | Deven Eastern DT | Seattle Seahawks |
Roster 110
The 2025 roster110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 21
The 2025 portal| Malachi Coleman WR | ★★★ | from  Nebraska |
 A.J. Turner RB | ★★★ | from  Marshall |
| John Nestor CB | ★★★ | from  Iowa |
 Marcellus Marshall OL | ★★★ | from  UCF |
| Drew Biber TE | ★★★ | from  Purdue |
 Dylan Ray OL | ★★★ | from  Kentucky |
 Javon Tracy WR | ★★★ | from  Miami (OH) |
 Kahlee Tafai OT | ★★★ | from  Washington |
 Logan Loya WR | ★★★ | from  UCLA |
 Steven Curtis DL | ★★★ | from  Illinois State |
| Cameron Davis RB | ★★★ | from Washington |
 Jaylen Bowden CB | ★★★ | from  North Carolina Central |
And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 20
 Phillip Daniels OT | ★★★★ | to  Ohio State |
| Coleman Bryson S | ★★★ | to  North Carolina |
| Martes Lewis OL | ★★★ | to  Northwestern |
| Nathan Jones TE | ★★★ | to  Abilene Christian |
| Zach Pyron QB | ★★★ | to  South Alabama |
| Tyler Williams WR | ★★★ | to  South Florida |
| Jaydon Wright RB | ★★★ | to  UL Monroe |
| Jordan Nubin RB | ★★★ | to  Kent State |
| Terrance McWilliams WR | ★★★ | to  Louisville |
| Martin Owusu DL | ★★★ | to  Fresno State |
| Sieh Bangura RB | ★★★ | to  Ohio |
| Craig McDonald S | ★★★ | to  Utah State |
And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big Ten
1 first team, 1 second teamFirst team
Anthony SmithDLCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
Koi PerichDBCoaches-3; Media-2
From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2025 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Indiana | 9–0 | 16–0 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 9–0 | 12–2 | 5 |
| Oregon | 8–1 | 13–2 | 4 |
 Michigan | 7–2 | 9–4 | 21 |
 USC | 7–2 | 9–4 | 20 |
| Iowa | 6–3 | 9–4 | 17 |
 Illinois | 5–4 | 9–4 | |
| Washington | 5–4 | 9–4 | |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
| Nebraska | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
| Northwestern | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
 Penn State | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| UCLA | 3–6 | 3–9 | |
| Rutgers | 2–7 | 5–7 | |
| Wisconsin | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Michigan State | 1–8 | 4–8 | |
 Maryland | 1–8 | 4–8 | |
| Purdue | 0–9 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.