Gophers football to travel to UCLA in 2024, host USC in 2025
Elijah Spencer had 11 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in the Gophers Spring Game. (University of Minnesota Athletics)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team announced its Big Ten opponents for the 2024 and 2025 seasons on Thursday, with the news that UCLA and USC are soon joining the conference.
The Big Ten is doing away with division winners to determine who plays in the conference championship game, making the road a lot tougher to get there. The league is protecting rivalry games, which means the Gophers will still be playing Iowa and Wisconsin every year. That means the battle for Floyd of Rosedale and Paul Bunyan’s Axe remain intact.
Fox 9 photojournalist takes a hit while covering Gophers football
With Team Maroon down 24-17 in Saturday's Maroon-Gold Minnesota Gophers football spring game, WR Elijah Spencer caught a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to tie the game up. While FOX 9 photojournalist Willow Locke got the shot, she also took quite the shot in the process (she's OK but plenty sore afterward!) Team Gold later won the scrimmage 36-34 in overtime.
The 2024 schedule includes a road trip to UCLA, and the 2025 schedule includes a home date with USC.
Here’s a look at the 2024 Big Ten opponents:
- IOWA
- NORTHWESTERN
- OHIO STATE
- RUTGERS
- at Indiana
- at Michigan
- at Nebraska
- at UCLA
- at Wisconsin
Here’s a look at the 2025 Big Ten opponents:
- MARYLAND
- MICHIGAN STATE
- NEBRASKA
- USC
- WISCONSIN
- at Illinois
- at Iowa
- at Penn State
- at Purdue
The 2024 Big Ten schedule features a home date with Ohio State, and a road game at Michigan. That marks two straight years the Gophers will face both the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
The Gophers are coming off a 9-4 season in 2022, the third time in four years Minnesota has won at least nine games under PJ Fleck. They’ll open the 2023 season on Aug. 31 against Nebraska at Huntington Bank Stadium.