Gophers to face Virginia Tech in Duke’s Mayo Bowl Jan. 3 in Charlotte

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team is headed to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday, Jan. 3, and will face Virginia Tech out of the ACC.

The game will be played at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers.

The Gophers learned their bowl destination on Sunday after the College Football Playoff committee announced the 12 teams that will be playing for the national championship. The Gophers finished the regular season 7-5 after a 24-7 win at Wisconsin to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Why it matters

Minnesota will be playing its sixth bowl game in eight seasons under P.J. Fleck. The Gophers are 5-0 in bowl games under Fleck. Last year, they earned a bowl game despite a 5-7 regular season record due to a high APR score. Minnesota will be going for its eighth straight bowl victory.

Fleck is 57-39 in eight seasons at Minnesota, including 34-36 in Big Ten play.

The winning head coach of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl traditionally gets a large container of mayonnaise dumped on them at the end of the game. Fleck has committed to participating in that if the Gophers beat the Hokies.

"It’s a tremendous opportunity for us to play another bowl game. It’s a great reward for the 2024 season, but it’s also a beginning of the 2025 season," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said Sunday. "It’s a great tradition, this is what college football is all about. I think it’s tremendous, if we’re lucky enough to win the football game absolutely, make it double."

What’s next

The Gophers announced their 20-player recruiting class for the 2025 season last week. They’ll continue bowl preparations, and we’ll find out which players are in and out for the bowl game.