Wait. If you’re checking your phone today, January 17, 2026, for a gopher football today score, you might be feeling a little lost. It’s mid-January. The wind chill in Minneapolis is probably doing that thing where it hurts your face just to exist.
College football doesn't happen in the snow in January unless you’re playing for a National Championship or a very late bowl game.
The Gophers? They’ve already hung up the cleats for the year. But that doesn’t mean the program is quiet. Honestly, it's actually been a chaotic week for P.J. Fleck and the crew. If you came here looking for a score, you probably saw a "67-77" popping up on Google and thought, "Man, the defense really fell apart."
Nope. That’s the basketball team losing a tough one to Illinois.
For the football junkies, the "score" isn't on a scoreboard right now—it's on the coaching staff roster and the transfer portal.
The Last Time They Actually Played (The Rate Bowl)
To find the most recent gopher football today score, we have to look back to December 26, 2025. The Gophers headed down to Phoenix for the Rate Bowl to take on New Mexico.
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It was a weird game. Typical Gopher football, really.
They won 20-17 in overtime. It wasn't pretty. It was a "grab a beer and pray" kind of game. A diving catch in the end zone sealed it, giving Minnesota their ninth straight bowl win. P.J. Fleck might have his detractors, but the guy knows how to win in December.
But that was weeks ago. Why is everyone searching for scores now? Usually, it's because the coaching carousel is spinning so fast it's making fans dizzy.
The Coaching Shakeup: The Real "Score" This Week
If we’re scoring the off-season, the Gophers just landed a massive "touchdown" by bringing back a local legend.
Yesterday, January 16, Fleck announced a total overhaul. The big news? Mohamed Ibrahim is back. The program's all-time leading rusher is officially the new Running Backs Coach. If you followed the 2025 season, you know the run game was... fine. But it lacked that "Mo Ibrahim" grit. Bringing in the guy who literally wrote the record book on Gopher rushing is a move that has the fanbase energized.
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Who Else Is Joining the Staff?
- Isaac Fruechte: Another alum. He’s taking over Wide Receivers. He was just the OC at North Dakota, so he’s bringing some fresh play-calling ideas to the room.
- Matt Limegrover: This is the one that surprised people. He was the OC under Jerry Kill back in the day. Now he’s back as an assistant O-line coach.
- Daniel Da Prato: New Special Teams Coordinator.
Basically, Fleck looked at the 8-5 record from 2025 and decided "status quo" wasn't going to cut it in the new-look Big Ten. He fired Matt Simon (the long-time WR coach) and a handful of others. It’s a bit of a "back to the future" vibe in the football complex right now.
Why 2025 Felt Different (and Why the Score Matters for 2026)
The 2025 season was a rollercoaster. They beat Nebraska 24-6 in October, which felt like the team was finally turning a corner. Then they went to Iowa City and got absolutely dismantled 41-3.
That’s the Gopher experience.
When people search for a gopher football today score, they’re often looking for hope. They want to know if the recruiting class is holding steady or if the 2026 schedule is out.
Speaking of which, the 2026 schedule is already looking beefy:
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- Sept 3: Eastern Illinois (The "get right" game)
- Sept 12: Mississippi State (A massive SEC test at home)
- Sept 19: Akron
The Mississippi State game is the one everyone has circled. If the Gophers can take down an SEC team at Huntington Bank Stadium, the hype for the 2026 Big Ten season will be through the roof.
The "False" Scores: Don't Get Confused
If you are seeing a score today, you’re almost certainly looking at Gopher Men's Basketball.
They played #13 Illinois today, January 17, 2026. They lost 77-67. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson went off for 22 points, but they just couldn't handle the size of the Illini in the second half.
Also, the Gopher Wrestling team just took a tough 20-12 loss to #6 Nebraska last night.
It’s a tough weekend to be a Gopher fan if you only care about the final digits on the screen. But football? Football is in the building phase.
Actionable Steps for Gopher Fans Today
Since there isn't a game to watch, here is what you should actually be doing to stay ahead of the curve:
- Check the Portal: The winter transfer window is where the 2026 season will be won or lost. Keep an eye on defensive line depth.
- Follow the New Coaches: Watch some of Isaac Fruechte’s old North Dakota film. It gives you a hint of how the Gopher passing attack might evolve.
- Season Tickets: If you’re planning on being there for the Mississippi State game in September, now is usually when the renewal notices start hitting inboxes.
The 2025 season is in the books. The Rate Bowl trophy is in the case. Now, we just wait for the spring game to see if Mo Ibrahim can coach as well as he ran.