2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Music City Bowl, L 31–34 vs. Virginia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Glen Mason (9th season);
Co-offensive coordinator	Mitch Browning (6th as OC, 9th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Tony Petersen (6th as OC, 7th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	David Lockwood (1st as DC, 4th overall season)
Captain	Greg Eslinger, Anthony Montgomery, John Pawielski, Mark Setterstrom
Home stadium	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
	Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

The 2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Glen Mason. Minnesota played its home games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The most notable win of the season came as Minnesota defeated Michigan to win the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 1986.

2005 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Penn State $+	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 4 Ohio State %+	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 15 Wisconsin	5	–	3	10	–	3
Michigan	5	–	3	7	–	5
Northwestern	5	–	3	7	–	5
Iowa	5	–	3	7	–	5
Minnesota	4	–	4	7	–	5
Purdue	3	–	5	5	–	6
Michigan State	2	–	6	5	–	6
Indiana	1	–	7	4	–	7
Illinois	0	–	8	2	–	9

$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	9:30 pm	at Tulsa*		Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	W 41–10	33,410
September 10	1:00 pm	Colorado State*		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 56–24	40,221
September 17	7:30 pm	Florida Atlantic*		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	FSN	W 46–7	40,709
September 24	11:00 am	No. 11 Purdue		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN	W 42–35 ^2OT	48,116
October 1	2:30 pm	at Penn State	No. 18	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (Governor's Victory Bell)	ABC	L 14–44	106,604
October 8	12:00 pm	at No. 21 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	ABC	W 23–20	111,117
October 15	11:00 am	No. 23 Wisconsin	No. 22	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPN	L 34–38	65,089
October 29	11:00 am	No. 12 Ohio State		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ABC	L 31–45	54,825
November 5	11:00 am	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN2	W 42–21	30,656
November 12	11:00 am	Michigan State		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN+	W 41–18	45,187
November 19	11:00 am	at Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN2	L 28–52	70,585
December 30	11:00 am	vs. Virginia*		The Coliseum Nashville, TN (Music Bowl)	ESPN	L 31–34	40,519
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`3`	Bryan Cupito	Jr
WR	`14`	Eric Decker	Fr
C	`61`	Greg Eslinger	Sr
RB	`22`	Laurence Maroney	Jr
WR	`84`	Logan Payne	Jr
RB	`29`	Amir Pinnix	So
WR	`88`	Micah Rucker	So
RB	`24`	Gary Russell	So
G	`68`	Mark Setterstrom	Sr
TE	`89`	Matt Spaeth	Jr
WR	`82`	Ernie Wheelwright	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`23`	Dominique Barber	So
LB	`6`	Alex Daniels	Fr
DB	`2`	Dominic Jones	Fr
DT	`95`	Anthony Montgomery	Sr
DT	`77`	Jeff Tow-Arnett	Fr
LB	`51`	Nate Triplett	Fr
DE	`91`	William VanDeSteeg	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LS	`44`	Robert McGarry IV	So

Head coach

Glen Mason

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	RV	18	RV	22	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	RV	19	RV	22	25	22	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—
Harris	Not released				20	RV	22	25	23	RV	RV	25	—	—	—	—	Not released
BCS	Not released							22	20	—	24	21	—	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	17	7	3	14	41
Golden Hurricanes	0	3	0	7	10

All-time record against Tulsa: 2–0–0

The Gophers open the 2005 season in dominating fashion. Laurence Maroney rushed for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bryan Cupito added 235 yards passing and 1 touchdown. Gary Russell had only six carries but two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter.

Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	10	0	14	24
Golden Gophers	3	19	20	14	56

All-time record against Colorado State: 2–0–0

The Gophers continued their high scoring ways to open the season, romping over Colorado State. Laurence Maroney had another big day, rushing for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gary Russell had 2 touchdowns on seven carries. The Golden Gophers had fantastic average field position, starting at their own 40-yard line, but Tulsa averaged their starting at their own 21-yard line.

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	0	7	0	7
Golden Gophers	20	20	6	0	46

All-time record against Florida Atlantic: 1–0–0

The Golden Gophers won the third game of the season, defeating the Florida Atlantic Owls. Bryan Cupito passed 10 for 17 and 230 yards, with 2 touchdowns. Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell each scored two touchdowns on the day. The Minnesota rushing attack accumulated 349 yards on the ground. The Gophers once again had better field position than their opponents, as the Gophers were 16 yards better than the Owls, starting at the 37-yard line.

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
No. 11 Boilermakers	0	7	7	14	7	0	35
Golden Gophers	3	7	10	8	7	7	42

All-time record against Purdue: 31–28–3 (as of 2005)

The Golden Gophers won their fourth game of the season, winning in double overtime of Purdue. Laurence Maroney had another big day for the Golden Gophers, rushing for 217 yards. Bryan Cupito passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a two-point conversion in the waning time of the fourth quarter, giving a tying score that would eventually force overtime. Logan Payne caught a touchdown in the first overtime, and Gary Russell scored the go-ahead touchdown in the second overtime, giving Minnesota the victory.

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Golden Gophers	0	7	0	7	14
Nittany Lions	10	10	17	7	44

All-time record against Penn State: 4–5–0 (as of 2005)

Penn State raced out to a 20-point lead on the way to a 30-point victory over the Golden Gophers. Minnesota's normally potent ground game was held to 113 yards. Bryan Cupito passed for 174 yards on the day. The Golden Gophers turned the ball over twice, compared to no turnovers for the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions regained the Governor's Victory Bell for the first time since 1998.

Michigan

Minnesota at #21 Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	0	10	10	3	23
No. 21 Michigan	3	10	7	0	20

Date: Saturday, October 8
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game start: 1:00 P.M. EST
TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler (play by play), Bob Griese (analyst), Lynn Swann (sideline)

Source: ESPN

All-time record against Michigan: 24–67–3 (as of 2005)

The Minnesota Golden Gophers won the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 1986. Laurence Maroney rushed for 129 yards on the day. Gary Russell ran for 128 yards on the day, nearly half the yards coming from one rush with under two minutes left in the game. That rush set up a final field goal by Jason Giannini. It was the first win for the Golden Gophers under Glen Mason. It was Michigan's was third loss on the season.

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Badgers	7	3	7	21	38
No. 22 Golden Gophers	0	10	17	7	34

All-time record against Wisconsin: 59–48–8 (as of 2005)

Coming off one of the biggest wins in recent memory, the Golden Gophers faced off against border rival, Wisconsin. The two teams traded the lead through the first half. With 3:27 left in the game, the Golden Gophers stretched the lead to 34–24. The Badgers then scored a touchdown, bringing the lead back down to a three-point gap. With 30 seconds left, the Badgers blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. The Badgers kept Paul Bunyan's Axe for the second straight year.

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Buckeyes	17	0	14	14	45
Golden Gophers	10	7	7	7	31

All-time record against Ohio State: 7–38–0 (as of 2005)

Minnesota dropped the game to Ohio State, despite a solid performance from the Golden Gophers offense. Bryan Cupito had 26 completions on 35 attempts, and had 395 yards passing. Laurence Maroney rushed for 125 yards. The Golden Gophers out gained the Buckeyes by 130 yards on offense, but had several drives stall. Twice the ball was turned over on downs, once on a missed field goal, and the Gophers had one fumble.

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	7	0	27	8	42
Hoosiers	0	14	0	7	21

All-time record against Indiana: 35–25–3 (as of 2005)

Minnesota's Gary Russell rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns on the way to the first Gopher victory in Indiana since 1985. The Golden Gophers had 200 more yards of offensive production on the day. The Golden Gophers broke the game open, scoring four touchdowns. Gary Russell had three touchdowns on the day. Minnesota had no turnovers on the day. The Gophers were successful on seven of the twelve third-down attempts. The win made the Golden Gophers bowl eligible.

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	3	0	15	18
Golden Gophers	7	14	7	13	41

All-time record against Michigan State: 15–25–0 (as of 2005)

Amir Pinnix rushed for 206 yards as the Golden Gophers won, 41–18. Bryan Cupito only passed 13 times, but connected on eight of those passes, and two touchdowns. The Golden Gophers had only two drives on the game that didn't result in a score. In addition, the Gophers dominated the time of possession, having offensive control for 36 minutes in the game. The Spartans missed two field goal attempts on the game.

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	7	0	21	28
Hawkeyes	14	24	7	7	52

All-time record against Iowa: 58–39–2 (as of 2005)

In the 99th addition of the Minnesota-Iowa rivalry, the Golden Gophers dropped their fifth straight game to the Hawkeyes. Bryan Cupito passed for 315 yards, but had two interceptions and barely more than a 50 percent passing completion. Defensively, the Golden Gophers gave up 615 yards of offense. Two different Hawkeye running backs eclipsed 100 yards rushing, and Iowa's Drew Tate threw for 351 yards passing and four touchdowns. Iowa continued to retain the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.

Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	3	14	10	34
Golden Gophers	14	7	3	7	31

All-time record against Virginia: 0–1–0

In the Golden Gophers' third appearance in the Music City Bowl, the Gophers dropped a close game against Virginia. Bryan Cupito passed for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. Running back Laurence Maroney rushed for 109 yards. The Gophers lost the lead for the first time with 1:08 remaining as they gave up a 39-yard field goal try. The loss was the Gophers' first loss in a bowl game since 2000.