The Minnesota Gophers open the 2026 season Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium, and the first snap comes with a familiar setup: P.J. Fleck’s team is back in the spotlight, and this one will be on Peacock.
Kickoff against Eastern Illinois is set for 7 p.m. If you’re planning to watch, you’ll need a Peacock subscription. FOX 9 will also carry a Gopher Pregame Show from 5 to 6 p.m. on FOX 9, FOX9.com and the FOX Local app.
Minnesota enters the opener as a 42.5-point favorite and has been steady in season openers under Fleck, going 6-3 in those games.
The broadcast coverage around the game will be built around FOX 9’s Pierre Noujaim, who will be joined by KFAN sideline reporter Justin Gaard and Gophers analyst Ron Johnson. FOX 9’s Ahmad Hicks and former Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan will also provide pregame analysis inside Huntington Bank Stadium.
There’s plenty of context around this opener beyond the matchup itself. This is Year 10 for Fleck at Minnesota, and he brings a 66-44 record across nine seasons.
That run includes a 39-40 mark in Big Ten play and a perfect 7-0 record in bowl games. Minnesota finished 8-5 last season and closed it out with a win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl.
Preseason polls have the Gophers slotted 10th in the 18-team Big Ten, but they do bring back a rare amount of continuity. Minnesota is the only Big Ten team returning its head coach, its 2025 starting quarterback Drake Lindsey, and both coordinators, Greg Harbaugh on offense and Danny Collins on defense.
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Cade Tyson Could Change Everything For Minnesota As Waiting Drags On
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For now, Tyson is practicing with the team and the program is preparing for the possibility that the answer could come in the coming weeks. The lawsuit challenging NCAA eligibility rules has created a holding pattern for Minnesota, and the outcome could do more than settle one players status - it could alter the outlook for a team that is trying to build momentum for the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger wrinkle is that Minnesota may not treat football as a standalone case. The university is weighing a broader sponsorship strategy that could stretch across multiple sports rather than chasing separate arrangements one by one, a setup that could take longer to sort out but might carry more value in the long run. For now, it leaves one more piece of the new college sports business model still unresolved in Minneapolis. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Open A New Season With One Big Reason For Optimism
The 143rd season of Minnesota football gets underway Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium, and for a program that has spent the last few years trying to build steadier expectations, there is at least a little familiar comfort in the setup. P.J. Fleck is entering his 10th year as head coach, and the Gophers are back in the kind of season-opening spot that usually says something about where a team stands before the real work begins, with a home date on Peacock and NBCSN offering the first look at this group.
The main reason for optimism starts with Drake Lindsey, who comes back after a breakout first season as the starter, and it does not stop there. Anthony Smith also returns after an All-Big Ten year that saw him pile up 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, giving Minnesota a defensive edge that could shape the early weeks if the offense settles in the way the Gophers hope. [Read more 🡒]