Minnesota Gophers Football Literally Ready For Primetime
There’s plenty of signs that show the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team is finding relevance. The highly ranked recruiting class for this year is one sign, but another is the start times that have been announced so far for the Gophers.
Seven kickoff times have been announced so far and only one of them has the dreaded 11 a.m. kickoff time that college students truly hate. The only 11 o’clocker, so far, is set for September 19 in a home match up against Kent State. It would not be shocking to see the Gophers get slotted at 11 for a Big Ten conference game or two.
The prime time kickoffs prove that the Gophers are finally a competitive team in the conference. The Gophers are no longer the automatic homecoming game for opponents anymore and that’s really anyone can really ask for.
Speaking of homecoming, the Gophers official website says that Homecoming this year will be against Ohio. This will be the first time the Gophers have their homecoming against a non-conference opponent since 1959 when the Gophers hosted Vanderbilt, the Gophers won that game 20-6.
Known kickoff times for the Gophers 2015 season so far:
- September 3 – vs. TCU – 8 p.m. – ESPN
- September 12 – at Colorado State – 2:30 p.m. – CBS Sports Network
- September 19 – vs. Kent State – 11 a.m. – Big Ten Network
- September 26 – vs. Ohio – 2:30 p.m.
- October 31 – vs. Michigan – 7 p.m. – ESPN/ESPN2/ABC
- November 7 – at Ohio State – 6 or 7 p.m. – ESPN/ESPN2/ABC
- November 14 – at Iowa – 7 p.m. – Big Ten Network
Games we don’t know the time yet for:
- October 3 – at Northwestern
- October 10 – at Purdue
- October 17 – vs. Nebraska
- November 21 – vs. Illinois
- November 28 – vs. Wisconsin
Prime time games get the Gophers in front of more eyes, including the eyes of potential recruits which is more than huge for Minnesota.