Minnesota Football Schedule 2026: Full Gophers Slate, Dates, and Key Games

by

Minnesota opened its 2026 season the way it has every year since 2012, at home on a Thursday night, and rolled Eastern Illinois 59-7 behind three Darius Taylor touchdowns and two Javon Tracy punt-return scores. Three straight home non-conference games lead into a Big Ten opener at Washington, and the schedule carries four trophy games: the 100th Little Brown Jug, Floyd of Rosedale, the Governor’s Victory Bell and Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Black Friday.

P.J. Fleck is in his 10th season after back-to-back eight-win years. The Gophers went 8-5 in 2025 and beat New Mexico 20-17 in overtime in the Rate Bowl, Fleck’s seventh bowl win in seven tries.

2026 Team Schedule
Minnesota Football Schedule
Big Ten · Huntington Bank Stadium · P.J. Fleck (10th year)
7
Home Games
Oct 17
Bye Week
1-0
Record
Oct 3
Circle It: 100th Little Brown Jug
Date Opponent Location Time (CT) / TV Result
Thu, Sept 3 Eastern Illinois Minneapolis 7:00 PM · Peacock W 59-7
Sat, Sept 12 Mississippi State Minneapolis 2:30 PM · CBS —
Sat, Sept 19 Akron Minneapolis 11:00 AM · BTN —
Sat, Sept 26 at Washington Seattle, WA TBA —
Sat, Oct 3 Michigan (Little Brown Jug) Minneapolis TBA —
Sat, Oct 10 at Purdue West Lafayette, IN TBA —
Sat, Oct 17 BYE WEEK — — —
Sat, Oct 24 Iowa (Floyd of Rosedale) Minneapolis 2:00 to 7:00 PM window —
Sat, Oct 31 at Indiana Bloomington, IN TBA —
Sat, Nov 7 UCLA Minneapolis TBA —
Sat, Nov 14 at Penn State (Governor’s Victory Bell) State College, PA TBA —
Sat, Nov 21 Northwestern (Senior Day) Minneapolis TBA —
Fri, Nov 27 at Wisconsin (Paul Bunyan’s Axe) Madison, WI 6:30 PM · NBC —
All times Central. Remaining Big Ten kickoff times and networks are set 6 to 12 days before each game. The Wisconsin game moved to Black Friday, Nov 27, in the May TV update; the original Big Ten release listed Nov 28.

Games That Will Define the Gophers’ Season

Sept 12 vs Mississippi State The first meeting between the programs, and just the third time Minnesota has hosted a current SEC team. The Bulldogs went 5-8 last year. A CBS afternoon window makes it the biggest non-conference stage of the year.
Oct 3 vs Michigan The 100th Little Brown Jug game, at home, against a Michigan team in its first season under Kyle Whittingham. It comes one week after the Big Ten opener in Seattle.
Oct 24 vs Iowa The 120th meeting for Floyd of Rosedale, right after the bye. Fleck is 1-8 against the Hawkeyes, with the lone win at Kinnick in 2023.
Nov 27 at Wisconsin Black Friday night at Camp Randall for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the 136th meeting in the most-played rivalry in Big Ten history.
Defending Champ on the Road, Again
The Oct 31 trip to Indiana makes it three straight seasons Minnesota has visited the defending national champion, after Michigan in 2024 and Ohio State in 2025. That has never happened in the AP poll era.
First Seattle Trip Since 1976
The Big Ten opener at Washington is Minnesota’s ninth trip to Seattle and its first in 50 years. Washington opened its own season with a Sunday Apple Cup on Sept 6.
Fleck’s Milestone Year
Ten seasons makes Fleck the longest-tenured Big Ten coach other than Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. He came in at 66-44 overall and 7-0 in bowl games.

How the Schedule Sets Up

Three home games to open, then a two-week stretch that says a lot: the Big Ten opener at Washington and Michigan at home for the Jug. Purdue on the road and the Oct 17 bye give the Gophers a breather before Iowa, and then the schedule turns hard, with Indiana on Halloween, UCLA at home, and Penn State on the road for the Victory Bell.

Northwestern on Senior Day is the last home game before the Axe in Madison. For the other side of those rivalry dates, see our Wisconsin schedule, Iowa schedule and Michigan schedule. The official schedule and ticket details are on GopherSports.com.

The Bottom Line

Seven home games, four trophy games, a 1-0 start, and a mid-October bye before the schedule gets serious. Fleck’s 10th Minnesota team returns quarterback Drake Lindsey and running back Darius Taylor and has a chance to build on consecutive eight-win seasons. Bookmark this page; results and kickoff times are updated throughout the season.