The Gophers are heading to the Outback Bowl!

[Jared.Hines]

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are heading to Tampa Bay!

After a historic 10-2 regular season, the College Football committee has awarded the Gophers a Jan. 1 Bowl Game with an Outback Bowl matchup vs. Auburn. The Outback Bowl--played in Tampa Bay, Florida isn't the Rose Bowl like many fans were looking for BUT is still a great bowl game overall. The Gophers will have an impressive opponent in Auburn who are 9-3 with all three losses to top-10 teams.

Below are a few facts about the upcoming bowl game for the maroon and gold, along with some facts about the Gophers bowl history.

- The Gophers are currently on a three game winning streak in bowl games. In 2015 and 2018 Minnesota won in the Quick Lane Bowl over Central Michigan and Georgia Tech respectively. In 2016, the Gophers defeated Washington State 17-12 in San Diego. The Gophers didn't have a bowl game in the 2017 season.

- Minnesota is 0-2 in bowl games played in Florida. In 2000, the Gophers played in the MicronPC.com Bowl against NC State and fell 38-30. On Jan. 1, 2015, the Gophers lost 33-17 to Missouri in the Citrus Bowl.
- The Outback Bowl has been around for 33 years and does a lot for local charities as well. Since 2016, the Outback Bowl has donated $1,500,000 to local charities according to their website.

- The Outback Bowl is played at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 1 each year. The game is played on ESPN at 12 p.m. Central Time. The stadium capacity of Raymond James Stadium is 65,657 and the game is played between a Big Ten and SEC team each year. The Outback Bowl was formerly named the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986-1995.

- This will be just the third time since 1962 that the Gophers will finish their season on Jan. 1. Minnesota defeated UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl and lost 33-17 to Missouri on Jan. 1, 2015 in the Citrus Bowl.

Leading up to the game, GopherHole will have a ton of content about the matchup and much more!

 

[GopherLady]

Per the U of MN press release:

Gophers Headed to Outback Bowl

The University of Minnesota football team accepted an invitation today to compete in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. The Gophers, who went 10-2 in the regular and a 7-2 in Big Ten play, will face Auburn from the SEC.

Minnesota was ranked No. 18 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, while Auburn was No. 12. This will be the first meeting ever between the Gophers and Tigers.

The Outback Bowl will be the 21st bowl game all-time for Minnesota, but it will mark the first time that the Gophers have played in the Florida-based Bowl. It will also be the second straight bowl game for the Gophers under head coach P.J. Fleck, as Minnesota played in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit last season and beat Georgia Tech 34-10. The 24-point win was Minnesota's largest bowl margin of victory in school history.

This year, Minnesota reached historic heights under Fleck, as the Gophers won 10 games in the regular season for the first time since 1905. Minnesota also won seven Big Ten games for the first time in school history.

Minnesota won four Big Ten games by at least 20 points for the first time since 1934 and beat No. 5 Penn State at home. The Penn State win was Minnesota's first win against a Top 5 five team since it beat No. 2 Penn State on the road in 1999. It was Minnesota's first home win against a Top 5 team since it beat No. 1 Michigan 16-0 in 1977.

The Gophers ascended to No. 7 in the AP Poll, which was the team's highest ranking since it was No. 5 on Nov. 19, 1962. Minnesota was also ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoffs, which was its highest CFP ranking in school history.

Minnesota is 8-8-1 all-time against teams from the SEC and most recently played Missouri in the 2015 Citrus Bowl. Prior to that, Minnesota's last game against an SEC opponent was a 20-16 win against Alabama in the 2004 Music City Bowl.

The Gophers, who have won three straight bowl games, will be playing in their third-ever Florida-based bowl. Minnesota previous played in the 2015 Citrus Bowl and the 2000 MicronPC.com Bowl.