What are Minnesota's latest bowl game projections after getting to six wins?

The Gophers will play in a bowl game for the fifth straight season.

Nov 1, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck looks on during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After Saturday's narrow overtime win over Michigan State, the Gophers are now bowl eligible for the fifth straight season. Three of their wins have come by one score, but they don't ask you how, just how many. Let's take a look at where the experts project they could play this winter.

Gophers bowl game projections

• On3 (Brett McMurphy): Rate Bowl vs. Baylor
• ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Pinstripe Bowl vs. SMU
• Athlon (Steve Lassan): Music City Bowl vs. LSU
• CBSSports (Brad Crawford): GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Ohio
• The Athletic (Scott Dochterman): Rate Bowl vs. Iowa State

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Dec 28, 2021; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P. J. Fleck (center) celebrates with the trophy alongside players Tyler Nubin (left) and Ky Thomas (right) after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Minnesota has already played in the Rate Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl and the GameAbove Sports Bowl, formerly the Quicklane Bowl in their current streak. With the current outlook of the Big Ten, those seem like the two most likely desitnations, but Steve Lassan from Athlon Sports still believes the Music City Bowl against LSU is a possibility.

Big Ten outlook

Minnesota is all alone in seventh place in the Big Ten standings at 4-2 in conference play. All four wins have come against teams that are in the bottom seven of the conference standings, but they don't ask how, just how many. With games left against fourth-place Oregon, eighth-place Northwestern and last-place Wisconsin, they will have to fight to stay there.

Big Ten standings after Week 10 | Picture via: ESPN

The top tier of the conference seems to still be Ohio State and Indiana. Tier number two also seems clear with Michigan, Oregon, Iowa and USC. Minnesota has an argument to be near the top of tier three with Washington, Northwestern, Illinois, UCLA and maybe Nebraska.

Liebert's post-Week 10 Big Ten power rankings

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Oregon
4. Iowa
5. USC
6. Michigan
7. Washington
8. Illinois
9. Northwestern
10. UCLA
11. Minnesota
12. Nebraska
13. Maryland
14. Penn State
15. Rutgers
16. Purdue
17. Wisconsin
18. Michigan State

Overall outlook

Any realistic Gophers fan would've been happy with a 6-3 record heading into their second and final bye week of the season. But it's hard to ignore that their three losses have come by an average of 30.0 points per game, one of which was a 38-point blowout loss against Iowa.

Right now, Minnesota football is the pretty girl you're talking to at the bar who looks a little different when the lights get turned on at the end of the night. Their 6-3 record puts them in the top half of the conference, but they've come up short when the lights are the brightest.