After finishing their 2021 campaign with an 8-4 record, the Minnesota Golden Gopher football team will play West Virginia University in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
The game will be at Chase Field, the home of the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, Arizona. The kick-off will be later in the evening, starting at 9:15 p.m. CST.
"It's a tremendous honor to compete in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against West Virginia," head coach P.J Fleck said in a statement.
The Gophers were 6-3 in the Big Ten and will face the Mountaineers for the first time. West Virginia closed out their season with a 6-6 record.
The Guaranteed bowl will be the 22nd bowl game in Minnesota history and the third with Fleck as head coach. In their two other bowl game appearances with Fleck in charge, the Gophers defeated Auburn in the 2020 Outback Bowl and Georgia Tech in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl.
Related
After the bowl game announcement, Fleck shared the team's excitement and complimented his opponent.
"Our team is excited to head to Phoenix, which is one of the most beautiful places in the country, and we look forward to facing a very talented West Virginia team," Fleck said in a statement. "They are extremely well-coached, and this game will be a terrific challenge for us."
Against teams from the big 12, Minnesota is 31-15-1 all-time, last facing a Big 12 opponent in 2015 when the team hosted TCU.
Now, the Gophers will look to claim their fifth straight bowl game win in Arizona.
Related
