What bowl game awaits the Gophers after their 7–5 regular season?

We're less than one week away from officially learning which bowl game Minnesota will play in this winter.

Nov 29, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrate with Paul Bunyan’s Axe after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After Saturday's emphatic 17-7 win over rival Wisconsin, the Gophers have ended the 2025 regular season with a 7-5 record and Paul Bunyan's Axe. They will play in a bowl game for the fifth straight season, so let's take a look at the latest projections as we head into championship week.

Gophers bowl game projections

• On3 (Brett McMurphy): Rate Bowl vs. Kansas State
• ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Duke
• Athlon (Steve Lassan): Music City Bowl vs. LSU
• CBSSports (Brad Crawford): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Georgia Tech

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Steve Lassan from Athlon Sports hasn't changed his projections much all season, but he still thinks Minnesota can go to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. Otherwise, it seems like it will come down to the Rate Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl or still the GameAbove Sports Bowl. The Gophers will likely be looked at alongside teams like Nebraska, Penn State and Northwestern, and it will ultimately come down to the respective bowls to choose which team they would like to invite.

Dec 29, 2022; Bronx, NY, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers players pose for a photo with the championship trophy after defeating the Syracuse Orange in the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Big Ten outlook

After Saturday's win over Wisconsin, the Gophers finish with a 5-4 record in Big Ten play, which puts them in a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference standings. It marks the fifth time in nine seasons under P.J. Fleck that Minnesota has finished with a conference record above .500.

Final Big Ten regular season standings. | Picture via: ESPN

Out of the five Big Ten wins Minnesota had this season, all five opponents finished below them in the conference standings. They beat the 18th, 16th, 14th, 14th and 10th-place teams in the conference. They lost to the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 10th place teams.

Liebert's final Big Ten regular season power rankings

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

Overall outlook

Minnesota finished the regular season with a perfect 7-0 record at Huntington Bank Stadium. It's the first season in program history with an undefeated home record since 1967, but only one of those teams came against a team with a winning record, and their combined record is 28-57.

Beating Wisconsin will always mean more than any game on Minnesota's schedule, but it's hard to think they're leaving the 2025 regular season with anything more than two wins of any merit at all. It feels like a season that met expectations and didn't exceed anything at all.