2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Citrus Bowl, L 17–33 vs. Missouri
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
Record	8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jerry Kill (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Matt Limegrover (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Tracy Claeys (4th season)
Captain	Mitch Leidner, Cedric Thompson
Home stadium	TCF Bank Stadium
	Seasons ← 2013 2015 →

2014 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 1 Ohio State x$#^	8	–	0	14	–	1
No. T–5 Michigan State	7	–	1	11	–	2
Maryland	4	–	4	7	–	6
Rutgers	3	–	5	8	–	5
Michigan	3	–	5	5	–	7
Penn State	2	–	6	7	–	6
Indiana	1	–	7	4	–	8
West Division
No. 13 Wisconsin x	7	–	1	11	–	3
Minnesota	5	–	3	8	–	5
Nebraska	5	–	3	9	–	4
Iowa	4	–	4	7	–	6
Illinois	3	–	5	6	–	7
Northwestern	3	–	5	5	–	7
Purdue	1	–	7	3	–	9
Championship: Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jerry Kill and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they lost to Missouri. It was their first New Year's Day bowl game appearance in 53 years, their previous was the 1962 Rose Bowl.

Preseason

Heading into their fourth off-season, Jerry Kill's coaching staff at Minnesota suffered their first departure as linebackers and assistant head coach Bill Miller accepted the linebackers coach position at Florida State.^[1] After a brief coaching search, the Gophers named Mike Sherels the new linebackers coach. Sherels had an extensive history with the University of Minnesota, playing middle linebacker for the team from 2003-2007 and then serving as a special assistant and then defensive graduate assistant under Jerry Kill from 2011-2013.^[2]

The Gophers also saw quarterback Philip Nelson leave the team, announcing his transfer to Rutgers University shortly after the conclusion of the 2013 season.^[3] During the off season, Nelson was charged with first-degree assault after allegedly kicking Isaac Kolstad in the head during a late-night scuffle in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. These charges led to Nelson's dismissal from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program on May 14, 2014.^[4]

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Melvin Holland WR	Ashburn, VA	Briar Woods HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.5	Jan 27, 2014
Melvin Holland WR	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN:
Jeff Jones^[5] RB	Minneapolis, MN	Washburn HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.7	Feb 2, 2013
Jeff Jones^[5] RB	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Connor Mayes^[5] OL	Van Alstyne, TX	Van Alstyne HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	335 lb (152 kg)	5.4	Jun 17, 2013
Connor Mayes^[5] OL	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Personnel

2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`1`	K. J. Maye	Jr
QB	`2`	Dimonic Roden-McKinzy	Fr
TE	`3`	Jerry Gibson	Fr
WR	`4`	Donovahn Jones	So
QB	`5`	Chris Streveler	Fr
QB	`7`	Mitch Leidner	So
WR	`9`	Eric Carter	Fr
WR	`12`	Will Reger	Fr
WR	`13`	Desmond Gant	Fr
WR	`14`	Isaac Fruechte	Sr
WR	`14`	Connor Cosgrove	Sr
QB	`15`	Conor Rhoda	Fr
RB	`16`	Jeff Jones	Fr
WR	`17`	Logan Hutton	Sr
QB	`18`	Jacques Perra	Fr
WR	`19`	Michael Conway	Fr
RB	`20`	Donnell Kirkwood	Sr
WR	`21`	Melvin Holland, Jr.	Fr
WR	`22`	Jeff Borchardt	Fr
WR	`23`	E. J. Sardinha	So
RB	`24`	Rodney Smith	Fr
WR	`25`	Devin Wright	Sr
WR	`26`	Brian Smith	Fr
RB	`27`	David Cobb	Sr
WR	`29`	Louis Tuszynski	So
RB	`31`	Cole Banham	Sr
RB	`32`	Berkey Edwards	Fr
FB	`34`	Jephete Matilus	Jr
RB	`35`	Rodrick Williams, Jr.	Jr
FB	`41`	Miles Thomas	Jr
FB	`43`	Tyler Hartmann	So
RB	`37`	Josh Parks	Fr
TE	`39`	Nate Wozniak	Fr
RB	`44`	Jacob Krisch	Jr
TE	`47`	Alex Bisch	Sr
TE	`48`	Matt Oldenkamp	Fr
TE	`49`	Noah Scarver	Fr
OL	`52`	Zac Epping	Sr
OL	`53`	Luke Rasmussen	Fr
OL	`55`	Connor Mayes	Fr
OL	`58`	Tommy Olson	Sr
OL	`60`	Matt Leidner	Fr
OL	`62`	Jared Weyler	Fr
OL	`63`	Jon Christenson	Jr
OL	`65`	Josh Champion	Jr
OL	`66`	Luke McAvoy	Jr
OL	`67`	Brian Bobek	Jr
OL	`68`	Isaac Hayes	So
OL	`70`	Chad Fahning	Fr
OL	`71`	Kyle McAvoy	Jr
OL	`73`	Joe Bjorklund	Jr
OL	`74`	Marek Lenkiewicz	Sr
OL	`75`	Ernie Heifort	Jr
OL	`76`	Alex Mayes	Fr
OL	`77`	Foster Bush	Jr
OL	`78`	Ben Lauer	So
OL	`79`	Jonah Pirsig	So
WR	`80`	Aaron Marmer	Jr
TE	`81`	Duke Anyanwu	So
TE	`81`	Nick Hart	Fr
WR	`82`	Drew Wolitarsky	So
TE	`83`	Drew Goodger	Sr
WR	`84`	Isaiah Gentry	Fr
TE	`85`	Lincoln Plsek	Jr
TE	`86`	Brandon Lingen	Fr
TE	`88`	Maxx Williams	So
WR	`89`	Connor Krizancic	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`1`	De'Niro Laster	Fr
DB	`2`	Cedric Thompson	Sr
DB	`3`	Derrick Wells	Sr
LB	`5`	Damien Wilson	Sr
DB	`6`	Grayson Levine	Sr
DL	`9`	Alex Keith	Jr
DB	`11`	Antonio Johnson	Jr
DB	`15`	Marcus Jones	Sr
DB	`16`	Steven Montgomery	Jr
LB	`18`	Peter Westerhaus	Jr
LB	`19`	Cedric Dicke	So
DT	`19`	Gary Moore	Fr
DB	`22`	Craig James	Fr
LB	`26`	De'Vondre Campbell	Jr
DB	`28`	Jalen Myrick	So
DB	`29`	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	Jr
LB	`30`	Chris Wipson	Fr
DB	`31`	Eric Murray	Jr
DB	`32`	John McKelvey	So
DB	`36`	Cavonte Johnson	So
DB	`40`	Alexander Starks	Fr
LB	`42`	Dominic Schultz	Jr
DB	`45`	Adekunle Ayinde	Fr
DL	`46`	Cameron Botticelli	Sr
DB	`48`	Davis Alexander	Fr
LB	`50`	Jack Lynn	So
DL	`52`	Yoshoub Timms	So
DL	`55`	Theiren Cockran	Jr
LB	`56`	Nick Rallis	So
LB	`57`	Everett Williams	Fr
LB	`59`	Ray Dixon	Fr
DL	`69`	Justin Carr	Jr
DL	`87`	Gaelin Elmore	Fr
DL	`90`	Demaris Peppers	Fr
DE	`91`	Julien Kafo	Fr
DL	`92`	Robert Nondo-Lay	Jr
DL	`93`	Ben Perry	Sr
DL	`94`	Harold Legania	Sr
DL	`95`	Hendrick Ekpe	So
DT	`96`	Steven Richardson	Fr
DL	`97`	Scott Ekpe	Jr
DL	`98`	Michael Amaefula	Sr
DE	`99`	Andrew Stelter	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K/P	`18`	Ryan Santoso	Fr
LS	`25`	Payton Jordahl	Fr
K	`33`	Andrew Harte	Fr
P	`34`	Logan McElfresh	Fr
P	`37`	Peter Mortell	Jr
K	`38`	Emmit Carpenter	Fr
LS	`40`	Jared Hartmann	Jr
P	`41`	Christian Eldred	Sr
K	`42`	Justin Juenemann	Fr
LS	`49`	Dave Ramlet	Sr

Head coach

Jerry Kill

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Tracy Claeys (associate head coach)
Matt Limegrover (assistant head coach / offensive line)
Brian Anderson (running backs)
Jeff Phelps (defensive line)
Pat Poore (wide receivers)
Rob Reeves (H-Backs / tight ends)
Jay Sawvel (defensive backs / special teams)
Mike Sherels (linebackers)
Jim Zebrowski (Quarterbacks / passing game coordinator)
Ryan Maiuri (graduate assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	6:00 pm	No. 16 (FCS) Eastern Illinois*		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 42–20	44,344
September 6	2:30 pm	Middle Tennessee*		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 35–24	47,223
September 13	3:00 pm	at TCU*		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	FS1	L 7–30	43,958
September 20	3:00 pm	San Jose State*		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 24–7	47,739
September 27	2:30 pm	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	ABC, ESPN2	W 30–14	102,926
October 11	11:00 am	Northwestern		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 24–17	49,051
October 18	11:00 am	Purdue		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 39–38	51,241
October 25	11:00 am	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPNU	L 24–28	44,437
November 8	11:00 am	Iowa		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 51–14	49,680
November 15	11:00 am	No. 8 Ohio State	No. 25	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ABC	L 24–31	45,778
November 22	11:00 am	at No. 23 Nebraska	No. 25	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ESPN	W 28–24	91,186
November 29	2:30 pm	at No. 14 Wisconsin	No. 18	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	BTN	L 24–34	80,341
January 1	12:00 pm	vs. No. 16 Missouri*	No. 25	Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL (Citrus Bowl)	ABC	L 17–33	48,624
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 28 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
E. Illinois	0	0	0	20	20
• Minnesota	7	7	7	21	42

Date: August 28
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mid Tennessee	0	0	17	7	24
• Minnesota	7	21	7	0	35

Date: September 6
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	0	7	7
• TCU	10	14	6	0	30

Date: September 13
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium

San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
San Jose St	7	0	0	0	7
• Minnesota	10	7	0	7	24

Date: September 20
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	0	10	17	3	30
Michigan	0	7	0	7	14

Date: September 27
Location: Michigan Stadium
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 102,926
Game weather: Sunny; about 75 °F (24 °C); wind 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) NE
Referee: J. McGinn

David Cobb 32 Rush, 183 Yds^[6]

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	0	10	0	7	17
• Minnesota	7	7	0	10	24

Date: October 11
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	14	17	7	0	38
• Minnesota	14	6	16	3	39

Date: October 18
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	3	21	0	24
• Illinois	14	0	7	7	28

Date: October 25
Location: Memorial Stadium

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa	7	0	0	7	14
• Minnesota	7	28	7	9	51

Date: November 8
Location: TCF Bank Stadium
Elapsed time: 3:19
Game attendance: 49,680
Game weather: Overcast; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 12 mph (19 km/h) NNE
Referee: Shawn Smith

^[7]

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	14	3	7	7	31
Minnesota	0	14	0	10	24

Date: November 15
Location: TCF Bank Stadium

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	7	0	14	7	28
Nebraska	7	14	3	0	24

Date: November 22
Location: Memorial Stadium

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	14	3	0	7	24
• Wisconsin	3	10	7	14	34

Date: November 29
Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Citrus Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Missouri	0	10	9	14	33
Minnesota	7	0	10	0	17

Date: January 1
Location: Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	25	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									—	—	25	25	18	—	25	Not released

Players Drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	55	Maxx Williams	TE	Baltimore Ravens
4	127	Damien Wilson	LB	Dallas Cowboys
5	138	David Cobb	RB	Tennessee Titans
5	150	Cedric Thompson	S	Miami Dolphins

References

^ "FSU Hires Bill Miller to FB Staff". 247Sports. February 24, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
^ Mason, Tyler (March 7, 2014). "Mike Sherels Named Gophers New Linebackers coach". Fox Sports North. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
^ Fornelli, Tom (January 29, 2014). "Minnesota QB Philip Nelson Transferring to Rutgers". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
^ "Rutgers dismisses Philip Nelson". ESPN. May 14, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "GopherHole.com - Unofficial Home of Minnesota Gopher Sports". GopherHole.com.
^ 2014 Minnesota vs. Michigan - Final Stats. Retrieved 2015-Aug-29.
^ 2014 Minnesota vs. Iowa - Final Stats. Retrieved 2015-Aug-29.

[1] "FSU Hires Bill Miller to FB Staff". 247Sports. February 24, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.

[2] Mason, Tyler (March 7, 2014). "Mike Sherels Named Gophers New Linebackers coach". Fox Sports North. Retrieved July 29, 2014.

[3] Fornelli, Tom (January 29, 2014). "Minnesota QB Philip Nelson Transferring to Rutgers". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 29, 2014.

[4] "Rutgers dismisses Philip Nelson". ESPN. May 14, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.

[auto-5] "GopherHole.com - Unofficial Home of Minnesota Gopher Sports". GopherHole.com.

[6] 2014 Minnesota vs. Michigan - Final Stats. Retrieved 2015-Aug-29.

[7] 2014 Minnesota vs. Iowa - Final Stats. Retrieved 2015-Aug-29.

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v t e Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Venues	Athletic Park (1892–1898) University of Minnesota Armory (1892–1898) Northrop Field (1899–1923) Memorial Stadium (1924–1981) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008) Huntington Bank Stadium (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Michigan: Little Brown Jug Nebraska Penn State: Governor's Victory Bell Wisconsin
Culture & lore	Goldy Gopher Marching band Spirit squad "Minnesota Rouser" "Minnesota March" "Go Gopher Victory" "Minnesota Fight" "Our Minnesota" "Hail! Minnesota" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Minnesota shift T formation Smith of Minnesota
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees Annual awards
Seasons	1882 1883 1884–1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold