Minnesota Football 2026 Schedule Outlook and Analysis

The Good

Four of the first five games are in The Bank, and the first road game after that is a manageable date at Purdue before getting a week off.

Playing Mississippi State at home isn't that bad, considering the other two non-conference games are against Eastern Illinois and Akron, but ...

The Bad

It's not quite as tough as last year's road slate (Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Cal, Northwestern), but this season's offering has some long trips and potentially tougher problems.

Going to Purdue isn't bad, but ... Washington, Penn State, Wisconsin, and that lightweight Indiana program.

What Big Ten Teams Minnesota Will Miss

Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Rutgers, USC.

You'd like to have missed Indiana, but not having to play Ohio State and Oregon is great, and missing USC and Illinois is a big break.

Minnesota’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026

Best Case: The Gophers beat Washington

Minnesota hasn't played Washington since 1977 - a Golden Gopher win - and out of the 17 meetings, it last won in Seattle to open up the 1956 season.

The Gophers get through the non-conference slate without a problem, they pull off the win at Washington, and all of a sudden, they're a hot 4-0 with Michigan coming to town.

Minnesota hasn't won at home against the Wolverines since ... 1977. 

Worst Case: The Gophers get Bulldogged

Minnesota loses to Mississippi State. That means there's almost no margin for error the rest of the way, but ...

The Gophers lose at Washington and drop the date against Michigan. After suffering a tough loss to Iowa, and get rocked at Indiana, they need to be great in November and ...

The lose at Wisconsin, they lose the Paul Bunyan Axe, and they lose out on a bowl game for the first non-2020 season since 2017.

Minnesota Football 2026 Schedule

Sept 3 Eastern Illinois
Sept 12 Mississippi State
Sept 19 Akron
Sept 26 at Washington
Oct 3 Michigan
Oct 10 at Purdue
Oct 17 OPEN DATE
Oct 24 Iowa
Oct 31 at Indiana
Nov 7 UCLA
Nov 14 at Penn State
Nov 21 Northwestern
Nov 28 at Wisconsin

Games That Will Decide Minnesota’s Season

1. Iowa, Oct. 24
Minnesota has lost the last two years to the Hawkeyes by a combined score of 72-17. With a trip to Indiana up next, it needs to take back the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.

2. at Washington, Sept. 26
You want to break the road game losing hex of last season? Doing it in the Big Ten opener would certainly do it.

3. Mississippi State, Sept. 12
It's one of the funkier non-conference games of the 2026 college football season, and there will be a big, big problem if the Gophers lose it.