Dec 26, 2025; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck against the New Mexico Lobos during the Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Minnesota Golden Gophers' 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Will Ragatz | Last updated Jan 27, 2026 6:06 PM ET

The Gophers' 2026 football schedule has arrived. We already knew the opponents that were on the slate, but now we've got the order in which Minnesota will face them and the dates on which the games will happen. Times and TV channels will come as the season gets closer.

Without further ado, here's what it looks like.

Week 1: vs. Eastern Illinois (Thursday, 9/3)
Week 2: vs. Mississippi State (Saturday, 9/12)
Week 3: vs. Akron (Saturday, 9/19)
Week 4: at Washington (Saturday, 9/26)
Week 5: vs. Michigan (Saturday, 10/3)
Week 6: at Purdue (Saturday, 10/10)
Week 7: BYE WEEK
Week 8: vs. Iowa (Saturday, 10/24)
Week 9: at Indiana (Saturday, 10/31)
Week 10: vs. UCLA (Saturday, 11/7)
Week 11: at Penn State (Saturday, 11/14)
Week 12: vs. Northwestern (Saturday, 11/21)
Week 13: at Wisconsin (Saturday, 11/28)

The Gophers do not play Oregon, Ohio State, Nebraska, Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, or USC in 2026. Notably, every Big Ten will only have one bye week next season, compared to the usual two, as the 12-game schedule will be condensed into 13 weeks.

Minnesota's season kicks off with a Thursday night game against an FCS opponent in Eastern Illinois. Nine days later, the Gophers will turn up the difficulty level a notch by welcoming in a SEC team in Mississippi State, which went 5-8 last year but will have plenty of athleticism. The non-conference slate, which is all in Minneapolis, wraps up against Akron from the MAC.

Big Ten play kicks off for the Gophers with their first game against Washington since 1977 (and their first game in Seattle since 1976). That's a fun road trip possibility for Minnesota fans interested in "Sailgating" in the Pacific Northwest. The first home conference game of the year is against Michigan a week later.

After the Gophers' October 17 bye, the difficulty ramps up. The Gophers have an extra week to prepare for a huge game against Iowa, but then they have to turn around quickly for their toughest task of the season, a road game against the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers. As always, the season wraps up against the Badgers with the Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe.

P.J. Fleck's program is coming off an 8-5 campaign in 2025. That's become the norm for the Gophers, who have won exactly 8 or 9 games (with 5 or 6 conference wins) in four of the last five years. They've gone 7-0 in bowl games under Fleck but haven't been able to break through with a huge season since they went 11-2 back in 2019.

Optimism for the 2026 season centers around the return of key players like Drake Lindsey, Darius Taylor, Anthony Smith, Jalen Smith, and many others. Koi Perich headlines the outgoing transfers, but Fleck has signed a strong incoming portal class to supplement the returners on the roster.