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Returning Gophers look to make most of bowl game
The Gophers will take on West Virginia on Tuesday with some big players set to return.
MINNEAPOLIS - It’s the final edition of the PJ Fleck Show for the 2021 on season on Fox 9 and this week, the University of Minnesota football team is in the final stretch to prepare for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The Gophers (8-4) will face West Virginia Tuesday night in Phoenix to cap off season that ended by knocking off Wisconsin 23-13 to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time since the 2018 season. The Mountaineers finished the 2021 season 6-6 with wins over LIU, Virginia Tech, TCU, Iowa State, Texas and Kansas.
The Gophers learned as they started preparing for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl they’d be getting back Tanner Morgan, Mo Ibrahim, Chris Autman-Bell and John Michael Schmitz for the 2022 season. Fleck joked that they’re the "Encore 4."
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Gophers will look to plug run lanes against West Virginia in bowl matchup
Run defense will be key for the University of Minnesota as the Gophers look to slow down West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday.
In this episode, Fox 9 Sports Reporter Pierre Noujaim joins Coach Fleck during media day in Arizona to talk about the 2021 season, facing West Virginia, players returning for next season and bringing back Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator. Senior rush end Boye Mafe and Autman-Bell also join the show to talk about the season and being in Arizona for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Watch the videos to see how the Gophers are getting ready to face the Mountaineers Tuesday night at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. That's right, they'll be playing football on a baseball diamond.
Kickoff is set for about 9:15 p.m. local time, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.