2026 Minnesota

4–⁠2 (2–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by P.J. Fleck. Share

Schedule and results

Biggest winBeat Eastern Illinois 59–⁠7Sep 3
By 52 points, its widest win.
Most excitingBeat Michigan 20–⁠14Oct 3
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Date	Opponent	Result
Sep 3	vsEastern Illinois	W 59–⁠7	90%
Sep 12	vsMississippi State	L 13–⁠38	70%
Sep 19	vsAkron	W 41–⁠7	71%
Sep 26	atWashington	W 27–⁠24	28%
Oct 3	vsMichigan	W 20–⁠14	47%
Oct 10	atPurdue	L 13–⁠41	65%
Oct 24	vsIowa	Preview	38%
Oct 31	atIndiana	Preview	15%
Nov 7	vsUCLA	Preview	47%
Nov 14	atPenn State	Preview	36%
Nov 21	vsNorthwestern	Preview	47%
Nov 27	atWisconsin	Preview	41%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record: 4–⁠2
Conference: 2–⁠1 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP now: Unranked
Points: 173–⁠131
Coach: P.J. Fleck
Elo: 1529 −26 this season
SP+ rating: 2.9 No. 60 of 138; offense No. 87, defense No. 40, special teams No. 70
SRS: 1.3 No. 62 of 138 in FBS
Returning: 65% of last season’s EPA, No. 33 of 136
Recruiting class: No. 28 roster talent No. 41 in FBS

Offensive coordinator: Greg Harbaugh Jr.
Defensive coordinators: Danny Collins and Nick Monroe

How good, play by play

Offense115th of 138
Defense69th of 138
Offense, opponent-adjusted124th of 138
Defense, opponent-adjusted61st of 138

	Success	Explosiveness	FBS rank
Offense	-0.02	39%	1.21	115th of 138
Defense	0.11	43%	1.17	69th of 138
Opponent-adjusted	0.01 off 0.09 def	39% off 42% def	—	124th off 61st def

Passing and running

	Pass success	Depth of target	Deep throws	Line yards	Stuffed
Offense		45%	6.8 yds	8%	2.50	21%
Defense		39%	8.2 yds	14%	3.00	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		2.9	own 35	14% allowed
Defense		4.1	own 24	22% caused

CORE rating -3.8, 82nd of 138 (offense -8.0, defense -4.2).

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	1,335 yds
Passing touchdowns	Drake Lindsey QB	9 TD
Rushing yards	T.J. Thomas Jr. RB	319 yds
Rushing touchdowns	Darius Taylor RB	4 TD
Receiving yards	Javon Tracy WR	375 yds
Receiving touchdowns	Jalen Smith WR	3 TD
Tackles	Maverick Baranowski LB	45 tkl
Sacks	T.J. Bush DL	4 sacks
Interceptions	Aydan West DB	1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Aaden Aytch DE	★★★★	No. 182
Howie Johnson DL	★★★★	No. 206
Quayd Hendryx WR	★★★★	No. 336
Roman Voss ATH	★★★★	No. 337
Ryan Estrada RB	★★★★	No. 395
Andrew Trout OT	★★★★	No. 438

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

	Signed	Stars	Rating
Quarterbacks	2	3.0	0.865
Running backs	2	3.5	0.883
Receivers	7	3.1	0.872
Offensive line	5	3.2	0.876
Defensive line	5	3.4	0.887
Linebackers	2	3.0	0.876
Defensive backs	5	3.0	0.872
Athletes and specialists	3	3.3	0.883
Whole class	31	3.2	0.877

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.

Roster 113

The 2026 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 19

The 2026 portal

Xion Chapman DL	★★★★	from Florida International
Perry Thompson WR	★★★★	from Auburn
Sid Kaba DL	★★★	from Marshall
Aydan West CB	★★★	from Michigan State
Bennett Warren OT	★★★	from Tennessee
Noah Jennings WR	★★★	from Cincinnati
T.J. Bush DE	★★★	from California
Kaden Helms TE	★★★	from Oklahoma
Mekhai Smith S	★★★	from Lehigh
Naquan Crowder DL	★★★	from Marshall
Parker Knutson CB	★★★	from Southwest Minnesota State
T.J. Thomas Jr. RB	★★★	from Elon

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 20

Koi Perich S	★★★★	to Oregon
Kahlee Tafai OT	★★★	to California
Za’Quan Bryan CB	★★★	to South Florida
Malachi Coleman WR	★★★	to Wisconsin
Fame Ijeboi RB	★★★	to Purdue
Jackson Kollock QB	★★★	to UC Davis
Kenric Lanier II WR	★★★	to Missouri
Reese Tripp OL	★★★	to Middle Tennessee
Brody Richter P	★★★	to New Mexico State
Cristian Driver WR	★★★★	no new school on file
Legend Lyons WR	★★★	to Montana
Steven Curtis DL	★★★	to North Texas

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Big Ten standings

Conference page

Team	Conf.	Overall
UCLA	4–⁠0	6–⁠0
Ohio State	4–⁠0	6–⁠1
USC	3–⁠1	6–⁠1
Indiana	3–⁠1	6–⁠1
Iowa	2–⁠1	5–⁠1
Northwestern	2–⁠1	5–⁠1
Oregon	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Minnesota	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Wisconsin	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Nebraska	2–⁠2	5–⁠2
Purdue	2–⁠2	3–⁠4
Michigan	1–⁠2	4–⁠2
Illinois	1–⁠2	3–⁠3
Rutgers	1–⁠2	2–⁠4
Washington	1–⁠3	4–⁠3
Penn State	0–⁠4	3–⁠4
Michigan State	0–⁠4	2–⁠5
Maryland	0–⁠4	2–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.