The Minnesota Gophers finally got the kind of win that belongs in the program’s highlight reel, but the first updated polls afterward didn’t exactly shower them with respect.
Minnesota’s victory over Michigan on Saturday - a team the Gophers hadn’t beaten in more than a decade and hadn’t beaten at home in nearly five decades - only nudged them forward in the AP and Coaches Polls. In the AP Top 25, they moved up six spots to No. 32 with 19 votes. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, they climbed 12 spots to No. 33 with 40 votes.
That’s progress, but not much of a reward for what Minnesota just pulled off.
Before the weekend, the Gophers were already outside the top 25, though they had received seven votes in the AP poll, which put them 38th, and the same number in the Coaches Poll, where they were 45th. Sunday’s update gave them a boost, but both polls still left them stuck well behind the teams that actually made the top 25 cut.
In the AP poll, Minnesota sits behind Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin among the teams just outside the rankings. Nebraska is No. 31 with 48 votes, Northwestern is No. 30 with 59, and Wisconsin is No. 28 with 88. Minnesota’s 19 votes leave it nowhere near that group.
The Coaches Poll paints a similar picture. Minnesota’s 40 votes put it in the same neighborhood as James Madison and North Dakota State, while Wisconsin sits at 47 votes, Northwestern at 70, Wake Forest at 87 and Nebraska at 117. Once you climb past those teams, the vote totals start to rise quickly.
The argument for Minnesota is straightforward: the Gophers have already done more than some of the teams ranked ahead of them. Nebraska is 5-0, but its schedule has been soft.
Wisconsin has a loss on the board too, and unlike Minnesota, that loss isn’t being softened by the same kind of schedule context. Minnesota’s only defeat came against No.
17 Mississippi State.
The case gets even louder when you look at specific teams ahead of Minnesota. USC, for example, is being credited for a close home win over Washington, while Minnesota is not getting nearly the same bump for being one of only three teams to win at Husky Stadium since the start of the 2022 season. The other two were Ohio State and Oregon.
Minnesota’s resume is built on the road win at Washington and the home win over Michigan, while USC’s five wins include San José State, Fresno State, Louisiana, Rutgers and Washington, with its lone loss coming to No. 13 Oregon.
Boise State also drew criticism in the discussion around the rankings after being placed ahead of Minnesota. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, got into the top 25 after a 12-7 win over UCF.
Still, the broader point remains the same: if Minnesota keeps winning, the rankings will sort themselves out. The schedule is about to get a lot more serious, starting with next weekend’s game at Purdue. A win there probably won’t change much in the polls, but a loss would be a major problem.
After that, Minnesota gets a brutal run with three ranked opponents in a row - Iowa, Indiana and UCLA - and finishes the season with five teams currently ahead of it in the polls.
So for now, the Gophers may have to live with the disrespect. The only real answer is to keep stacking wins.
In Other News...
PJ Fleck Had A Wild Postgame Moment Gophers Fans Will Love
P.J. Fleck has never been shy about turning a Minnesota football win into a full-blown moment, and his latest postgame celebration fit right into that reputation. After the Gophers recent victory, the coach celebrated by drinking from the Little Brown Jug, the old trophy tied to the programs rivalry with Michigan and one of the more recognizable symbols in Big Ten football.
It also came with the kind of edge and theatrics that have long defined Flecks sideline style in Minneapolis. Fans have seen him lean into the emotion before, including the memorable moment after the Washington win when he wiped a players blood on his face, and those scenes help explain why his tenure keeps drawing attention beyond the box score. With his coaching record and contract status always part of the broader conversation, Fleck remains one of the most distinctive figures in the sport, especially when the wins start piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Waste Strong Start In Frustrating Season Opener Loss
A delayed start and a promising opening quickly gave way to a frustrating night for Minnesota, which opened its 2026-27 season with a 3-2 loss to Michigan Tech at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Gophers did enough early to put themselves in position, getting goals from Tate Pritchard and Beckett Hendrickson while Luca Di Pasquo turned aside several dangerous chances in net.
Michigan Tech still found a way to finish the job, scoring the winner late in the third period and sending Minnesota home with a loss in its first game of the year. For a team trying to set the tone right away, the mix of a slow rink, a strong start and a late collapse made this one feel like a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Turned An Ugly Start Into A Bigger Rivalry Problem
Minnesotas 20-14 win over Michigan did more than just snap an 18-game losing streak against the Wolverines. It also finally gave the Golden Gophers a home victory in the series for the first time since 1977, a result built on a steady response after a game that could have tilted the other way early. Michigan handed Minnesota enough chances to stay in it, and the Gophers took full advantage.
The bigger edge came after halftime, when Minnesota kept Michigan out of the end zone and turned the game into a test of patience and discipline. PJ Fleck praised his teams resilience afterward, and it was easy to see why. For a program that has spent decades chasing this matchup, the win carried the kind of weight that can linger well beyond one Saturday. [Read more 🡒]