Gophers denied Jerry Kill rematch, get Bowling Green in Quick Lane Bowl

The Gophers are go bowling in Detroit, but Jerry Kill won't be there. The NCAA announced Sunday that Minnesota will play Bowling Green in the Tuesday, Dec. 26 Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field. 

Minnesota has played in the Quick Lane Bowl twice before, in 2015 when they defeated Central Michigan and in 2018 when the topped Georgia Tech. This year's Quick Lane Bowl will kick off at 1 p.m. CT and be televised on ESPN. 

There was some, albeit slim, hope that the storyline for the bowl games would include a P.J. Fleck vs. Jerry Kill rematch. But Kill's New Mexico State Aggies, who finished 10-4 and lost to Liberty in the Conference USA title game on Friday, will participate in the Dec. 16 New Mexico Bowl against Fresno State. 

The Gophers are the only five-win team in the country playing in a bowl. There are 41 total bowl games and that requires 82 teams. Only 81 teams reached six wins to automatically qualify for a bowl, and the Gophers slipped in thanks to the best standing in the Academic Progress Report among the five-win teams in the country. 

Minnesota will not have Athan Kaliakmanis at quarterback for the game because he's expected to enter the transfer portal when the portal opens on Monday. That likely means Cole Kramer will be the starting quarterback, with walk-on freshman Max Shikenjanski being the backup. 

Freshman quarterback Drew Viotto is also entering the transfer portal, so the Gophers will be thin at quarterback for the bowl.