The 2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in the

2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 27, 2014 and ended on D ...

. They were led by fourth-year head coach

Jerry Kill Gerald R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at New Mexico State University. He played college football at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas from 1979 to 1982. Kill served as the head ...

and played their home games at

TCF Bank Stadium Huntington Bank Stadium (formerly known as TCF Bank Stadium) is an outdoor stadium located on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The stadium opened in 2009, after three years of construction. It is ...

. They were a member of the West Division of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

where they lost to

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. It was their first New Year's Day bowl game appearance in 53 years, their previous was the 1962 Rose Bowl.

Preseason

Heading into their fourth off-season,

's coaching staff at Minnesota suffered their first departure as linebackers and assistant head coach Bill Miller accepted the linebackers coach position at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. After a brief coaching search, the Gophers named Mike Sherels the new linebackers coach. Sherels had an extensive history with the University of Minnesota, playing middle linebacker for the team from 2003-2007 and then serving as a special assistant and then defensive graduate assistant under Jerry Kill from 2011-2013. The Gophers also saw quarterback Philip Nelson leave the team, announcing his transfer to

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

shortly after the conclusion of the 2013 season. During the off season, Nelson was charged with first-degree assault after allegedly kicking Isaac Kolstad in the head during a late-night scuffle in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. These charges led to Nelson's dismissal from the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers University in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Rutgers competes as a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. ...

program on May 14, 2014.

Personnel

Schedule

*Source
Schedule

Game summaries

Eastern Illinois

Middle Tennessee

TCU

San Jose State

Michigan

* David Cobb 32 Rush, 183 Yds

Northwestern

Purdue

Illinois

Iowa

2014 Minnesota vs. Iowa - Final Stats
Retrieved 2015-Aug-29.

Ohio State

Nebraska

Wisconsin

Citrus Bowl

Rankings

Players Drafted into the NFL

References

{{Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Minnesota Golden Gophers football seasons

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...