Minnesota Golden Gophers Football

Minnesota Golden Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck is staying put.

Minnesota announced on November 3 it had agreed to a seven-year contract extension with the coach that runs through the 2028 campaign.

Fleck released a statement:

This is home. Our family loves it here and we are excited to continue this journey at the University of Minnesota. From day one, we talked about cultural sustainability and how important it is to building a successful football program and life program. Today is another step in that process, and this new contract is a commitment to our elite staff and the entire state of Minnesota. Heather and I are so thankful to our staff, Mark Coyle, President Joan Gabel and the Board of Regents for trusting us to lead this program. Our goal is to recruit and coach at an elite level and to have our young people achieve academic, athletic, social and spiritual excellence. It's a tremendous honor to lead this program, and we will continue to work to build a culture that connects the entire state.

Fleck's deal was officially approved on Monday by the school's board of regents, per Steve Berkowitz of USA Today. Per Berkowitz, the deal will pay Fleck $5 million annually.

The school's announcement pointed to the coach's accomplishments since he took over the program in 2017.

He is sixth in school history with 32 wins and third with a .603 winning percentage among coaches with at least 45 games. He won the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award in 2019 when he led the Golden Gophers to 11 wins, their most since 1904.

Fleck was at Western Michigan for four seasons before starting his Minnesota tenure and finished with a 30-22 record and three bowl game appearances. The Broncos went 13-1 during the 2016 campaign and reached the Cotton Bowl.

Minnesota is 32-21 under his guidance and reached the Quick Lane Bowl in 2018 and the Outback Bowl in 2019. It capped the 11-win 2019 season with a victory over Auburn in the bowl game.

The Golden Gophers are once again in position to be a factor in the late portion of the season at 6-2.

They are 4-1 in conference play and control their destiny in the Big Ten West standings. If they win out, they will have a high-profile showdown against Ohio State, Michigan State or Michigan in the Big Ten title game and could shake up the College Football Playoff race.       

Minnesota running back Trey Potts was hospitalized after an undisclosed ailment arose late in Saturday's game against Purdue.

While Potts' specific condition has not been revealed, he is reportedly "improving" and "doing well," according to the Associated Press. A further update reportedly would be provided when it's available with his family's permission.

Potts, who is still hospitalized in Indiana, currently ranks second in the Big Ten with 552 rushing yards. He ran for 78 yards against Purdue before exiting the game, scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter of the Gophers' 20-13 victory. Prior to the game against the Boilermakers, Potts eclipsed 120 rushing yards in three straight weeks.

When Potts left the game late in the fourth quarter, he was evaluated on the sideline before it was determined he should be transported to the hospital. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle, head athletic trainer Mike Sypniak and team physician Dr. David Jewison stayed with Potts overnight.

A redshirt sophomore, Potts played in five games in 2020 and ran for 121 yards. He took over as Minnesota's starting running back this year after Mohamed Ibrahim suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener against Ohio State.

Minnesota is currently 3-2 this season with a 1-1 conference record. With a bye week coming up, the team has some extra time to evaluate Potts and determine if he can continue playing this season.

The Gophers will return to action October 16 in a home game against Nebraska.     

Minnesota star running back Mohamed Ibrahim suffered an apparent leg injury in the third quarter of Thursday's season opener against Ohio State. 

Ibrahim was injured on a non-contact play when his left leg appeared to give out after he took a handoff from quarterback Tanner Morgan. 

Sideline reporter Jenny Taft said on the Fox broadcast that Ibrahim walked to Minnesota's locker room wearing a walking boot. 

Minnesota was doing a good job of keeping pace with Ohio State in the first half. The Golden Gophers even carried a 14-10 lead into intermission. 

The Buckeyes scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 31-21 lead at the time of Ibrahim's injury. 

Ibrahim was having a fantastic performance up to that point. He ran for 162 yards and two scores on 30 carries. Treyson Potts took over as the lead back for the Gophers. 

Expectations are high for Ibrahim coming into his senior season. The Baltimore native ran for 1,076 yards and tied for fifth in the nation with 15 rushing touchdowns in just seven games last year. 

Potts, a redshirt sophomore, will likely remain the No. 1 running back for the time being. He had 26 carries for 172 yards over the past two seasons combined.    

Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Rashod Bateman announced Wednesday he is opting out of the remainder of the 2020 season after a COVID-19 outbreak at the program forced the cancellation of this weekend's game vs. Wisconsin. 

The cancellation means that Minnesota-Wisconsin will not be played for the first time in 113 years.

Bateman, a 20-year-old junior, has 36 catches for 472 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season. He was a star in 2019, catching 60 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 scores, and was named the Big Ten wide receiver of the year. 

He'll now turn to draft preparations. On Mel Kiper Jr.'s Nov. 11 big board for the 2021 NFL draft, the ESPN draft pundit ranked Bateman No. 25. Kiper noted that the wideout "has long arms and the length to go and get the ball in traffic. He tracks the ball well on deep throws. The question about Bateman is his straight-line speed; his 40-yard dash time will be important."

Bateman enters a draft with a deep pool of talented wideouts, however, with Kiper ranking five players at the position—Alabama's DeVonta Smith (No. 5), LSU's Ja'Marr Chase (No. 6), Alabama's Jaylen Waddle (No. 11), LSU's Terrace Marshall Jr. (No. 21) and Purdue's Rondale Moore (No. 23)—above him.

Bateman had initially announced he would forgo the 2020 season entirely amid the coronavirus pandemic but opted back into the season in September. 

Per ESPN's Chris Low, Minnesota "had 20 players sit out because of a combination of injuries and COVID-19 issues for its 34-31 victory over Purdue on Friday" and has registered "nine student-athletes and six staff members who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past five days."

The school has paused all football activities for the time being.

University of Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman has reportedly had a change of heart after opting out of the 2020 college football season.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Bateman now wants to play despite the fact that he opted out and hired an agent. He is currently on campus and enrolled as a full-time student.

Thamel added that Bateman and other players in similar situations will need clearance from the NCAA to play in 2020.

University of Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck released a statement on the matter and divulged that Bateman has been granted a waiver to practice with the team, although his waiver to play is still pending:

After initially voting against playing in the fall, the Big Ten held another vote this week and reversed course, meaning its season will now begin Oct. 23.

Bateman opted out in early August at a time when it was unclear if the Big Ten or any other conference would play football during the fall.

At the time, he cited "uncertainty around health and safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic" as the primary reason behind his decision:

Bateman is coming off a productive year, as he finished second on the team in receptions (60), receiving yardage (1,219) and receiving touchdowns (11) last season as a sophomore.

With Tyler Johnson moving on to the NFL, Bateman was in line to be the Golden Gophers' unquestioned No. 1 wideout in 2020. He played a key role in Minnesota's success last season, as it finished 7-2 in Big Ten play and 11-2 overall, marking its best win total since going 13-0 in 1904.

In an early 2021 NFL mock draft from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, he projected Bateman to go 15th overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ultimately, his fate will be decided by the NCAA, which has to determine whether the extenuating circumstances warrant letting him and others play in 2020 despite hiring agents.

The University of Minnesota has reached a $500,000 settlement with a woman who said multiple football players sexually assaulted her at a Dinkytown apartment on Sept. 2, 2016.

Josh Verges of the Pioneer Press provided details regarding the former undergraduate student's claims:

"The woman told authorities she was coerced into having sex with a Gopher football player and a high school recruit at a team apartment after drinking shots of vodka following the team’s first game of the season.

"Several more football players soon arrived to watch or take turns having sex with the woman against her will, she said."

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman decided against pressing charges, providing this reasoning to 5 Eyewitness News:

"The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office reviewed a case investigated and submitted by Minneapolis Police against several Minnesota Gopher Football players. Based on the evidence available, the county attorney’s office is declining to file any charges. There is insufficient, admissible evidence for prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that either force was used or that the victim was physically helpless as defined by law in the sexual encounter. This office will have no further comment on the case."

Minnesota initially suspended 10 players indefinitely, but the school's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action department ultimately decided on "varying levels of discipline" for that group in 2018, per Verges. 

Five players were suspended or expelled.

Per Verges, the law firm of Hutchinson Black and Cook represented the woman in this settlement. The Colorado law firm has previously reached settlements with other schools where football players have been accused of sexual assault, including Colorado, Arizona State and Florida State.

University of Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman announced Tuesday he's opting out of the 2020 college football season because of the "uncertainty around health and safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Bateman, a 2019 First Team All-Big Ten selection for the Golden Gophers, also declared for the 2021 NFL draft.

The Georgia native recorded 60 receptions for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns for Minnesota last season. It came on the heels of an instant-impact freshman campaign that saw him register 51 catches for 704 yards and six scores.

His 17 receiving TDs over the past two seasons tied for 22nd in the country, per Sports Reference.

Bateman, a 4-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, told Chad Graff of The Athletic in November it wasn't until Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck showed interest that other major offers rolled in.

"It kind of felt disrespectful," he said. "Minnesota offered me and then people saw that and were like, 'OK, now we can offer him.' So I was just real with who was real with me first."

Now Bateman's focus shifts to the NFL.

In May, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked him as the No. 17 overall prospect on his early big board for next year's draft.

"At 6'2" and 210 pounds, the true junior has the production to intrigue NFL scouts and the athleticism to propel him into the first round of the draft," Miller wrote. "Scouts who worked on the Gophers' 2020 draft class are already buzzing about Bateman's ability to set up and beat cornerbacks with agile moves and fluid routes."

Meanwhile, the Big Ten announced in July it will utilize a conference-only schedule if fall sports are given the green light to play amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gophers' first game is scheduled for Sept. 18 when they're slated to host the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Minnesota walk-on holder Casey O'Brien announced on Twitter that he has survived cancer for the fifth time:

Per the Minnesota football team website, O'Brien was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 13 years old. He played quarterback before his cancer diagnosis but stayed on the football field as a holder through high school.

The two-time Academic All-Big Ten member and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar played in two games during the 2019 season. He held for three extra-point attempts against Rutgers (42-7 win) and Maryland (52-10 victory). All six extra points were good.

The Golden Gophers finished 11-2 and capped their season with an Outback Bowl victory against Auburn.

The Saint Paul, Minnesota, native was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after making his collegiate debut versus Rutgers.

Per Garrett Stepien of 247Sports, O'Brien "overcame roughly 15 surgeries along his journey to Minnesota walk-on holder." He had a full left knee replacement and underwent many rounds of chemotherapy.

"Three-hundred nights in the hospital, surgeries, chemo, everything like that—I just kind of walk in myself through my life and everything that went into being in this moment," O'Brien said to ESPN's College GameDay last year.

The redshirt junior is set to begin his third season as a Golden Gopher Sept. 3 vs. Florida Atlantic.

A Minneapolis-based retail giant should know better than to mistake the mascot of its state's university for one of its bitter rivals. The keyword there being "should." 

Target offered an apology on Tuesday, per the Star Tribune's Paul Walsh, after it mistakenly created and sold a onesie with "Minnesota Badgers" printed on it in the University of Minnesota colors. However, the badger is not Minnesota's mascot.

In fact, the badger is the mascot of Minnesota's rival, Wisconsin. So it's not surprising Golden Gophers fans were upset to see the two teams merged into one.

Fortunately, Target recognized that, too, and put out an apology almost as quickly as the franken-onesie went viral. 

"Color us red," the company said in a statement, per Walsh. "As a Minnesota-based company, we know we are home to the Gophers. We've worked with our vendor to remove this item and apologize to any sports fans who might have been left scratching their head."

According to Walsh, only two of the onesies were purchased during the 24-hour window in which they were on the shelves. Another 22 were returned to the vendors. 

With only 24 "Minnesota Badgers" onesies ever made, they're basically a collector's item, though it's clear neither Minnesota nor Wisconsin fans want one.