2014–2026 performance history

Minnesota over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

Big TenHead coach: P.J. FleckView Minnesota games →
Offense · 2026 estimate24.9/100

16.7 average through 2 games

27.3 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate40.6/100

22.3 average through 2 games

45.8 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

Minnesota individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.Kill · ’14–’15Jerry Kill, 2014–2015ClaeysTracy Claeys, 2016Fleck · ’17–’26P.J. Fleck, 2017–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Eastern Illinois · W 42–20; offense 20.0 percentile2014 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee · W 35–24; offense 61.6 percentile2014 Week 3: Minnesota at TCU · L 7–30; offense 23.1 percentile2014 Week 4: Minnesota vs. San José State · W 24–7; offense 51.3 percentile2014 Week 5: Minnesota at Michigan · W 30–14; offense 60.2 percentile2014 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 24–17; offense 37.9 percentile2014 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 39–38; offense 73.8 percentile2014 Week 9: Minnesota at Illinois · L 24–28; offense 20.8 percentile2014 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Iowa · W 51–14; offense 92.3 percentile2014 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Ohio State · L 24–31; offense 71.7 percentile2014 Week 13: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 28–24; offense 93.3 percentile2014 Week 14: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 24–34; offense 50.1 percentile2014 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Missouri · L 17–33; offense 39.4 percentile2015 Week 1: Minnesota vs. TCU · L 17–23; offense 34.2 percentile2015 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Kent State · W 10–7; offense 18.0 percentile2015 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Ohio · W 27–24; offense 86.1 percentile2015 Week 5: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 0–27; offense 7.6 percentile2015 Week 6: Minnesota at Purdue · W 41–13; offense 67.9 percentile2015 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · L 25–48; offense 60.3 percentile2015 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 26–29; offense 89.7 percentile2015 Week 10: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 14–28; offense 32.5 percentile2015 Week 11: Minnesota at Iowa · L 35–40; offense 97.0 percentile2015 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 32–23; offense 86.9 percentile2015 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 21–31; offense 64.9 percentile2015 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Central Michigan · W 21–14; offense 57.1 percentile2016 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Oregon State · W 30–23; offense 26.4 percentile2016 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Indiana State · W 58–28; offense 74.9 percentile2016 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Colorado State · W 31–24; offense 75.6 percentile2016 Week 5: Minnesota at Penn State · L 26–29; offense 74.5 percentile2016 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 7–14; offense 17.8 percentile2016 Week 7: Minnesota at Maryland · W 31–10; offense 21.8 percentile2016 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 34–32; offense 46.8 percentile2016 Week 9: Minnesota at Illinois · W 40–17; offense 31.5 percentile2016 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 44–31; offense 41.1 percentile2016 Week 11: Minnesota at Nebraska · L 17–24; offense 28.1 percentile2016 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 29–12; offense 24.6 percentile2016 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 17–31; offense 59.4 percentile2016 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Washington State · W 17–12; offense 36.2 percentile2017 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Buffalo · W 17–7; offense 21.0 percentile2017 Week 2: Minnesota at Oregon State · W 48–14; offense 57.0 percentile2017 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee · W 34–3; offense 73.3 percentile2017 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Maryland · L 24–31; offense 28.0 percentile2017 Week 6: Minnesota at Purdue · L 17–31; offense 51.0 percentile2017 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · L 27–30; offense 47.8 percentile2017 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 24–17; offense 31.1 percentile2017 Week 9: Minnesota at Iowa · L 10–17; offense 13.3 percentile2017 Week 10: Minnesota at Michigan · L 10–33; offense 22.6 percentile2017 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 54–21; offense 99.1 percentile2017 Week 12: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 0–39; offense 17.8 percentile2017 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 0–31; offense 5.3 percentile2018 Week 1: Minnesota vs. New Mexico State · W 48–10; offense 60.1 percentile2018 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Fresno State · W 21–14; offense 39.6 percentile2018 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Miami (OH) · W 26–3; offense 46.1 percentile2018 Week 4: Minnesota at Maryland · L 13–42; offense 20.5 percentile2018 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 31–48; offense 64.7 percentile2018 Week 7: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 14–30; offense 80.7 percentile2018 Week 8: Minnesota at Nebraska · L 28–53; offense 50.8 percentile2018 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Indiana · W 38–31; offense 83.2 percentile2018 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · L 31–55; offense 40.6 percentile2018 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 41–10; offense 88.5 percentile2018 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · L 14–24; offense 31.7 percentile2018 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 37–15; offense 69.0 percentile2018 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech · W 34–10; offense 92.7 percentile2019 Week 1: Minnesota vs. South Dakota State · W 28–21; offense 14.8 percentile2019 Week 2: Minnesota at Fresno State · W 38–35; offense 52.8 percentile2019 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Georgia Southern · W 35–32; offense 59.7 percentile2019 Week 5: Minnesota at Purdue · W 38–31; offense 85.2 percentile2019 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 40–17; offense 89.1 percentile2019 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 34–7; offense 93.3 percentile2019 Week 8: Minnesota at Rutgers · W 42–7; offense 75.6 percentile2019 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 52–10; offense 94.3 percentile2019 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Penn State · W 31–26; offense 79.8 percentile2019 Week 12: Minnesota at Iowa · L 19–23; offense 76.1 percentile2019 Week 13: Minnesota at Northwestern · W 38–22; offense 99.8 percentile2019 Week 14: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 17–38; offense 37.2 percentile2019 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Auburn · W 31–24; offense 90.3 percentile2020 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 24–49; offense 39.7 percentile2020 Week 9: Minnesota at Maryland · L 44–45; offense 88.5 percentile2020 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · W 41–14; offense 92.2 percentile2020 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 7–35; offense 49.3 percentile2020 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 34–31; offense 87.7 percentile2020 Week 15: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 24–17; offense 38.1 percentile2020 Week 16: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 17–20; offense 59.9 percentile2021 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Ohio State · L 31–45; offense 73.5 percentile2021 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Miami (OH) · W 31–26; offense 49.4 percentile2021 Week 3: Minnesota at Colorado · W 30–0; offense 46.6 percentile2021 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green · L 10–14; offense 12.8 percentile2021 Week 5: Minnesota at Purdue · W 20–13; offense 54.0 percentile2021 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 30–23; offense 48.7 percentile2021 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 34–16; offense 94.4 percentile2021 Week 9: Minnesota at Northwestern · W 41–14; offense 82.9 percentile2021 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Illinois · L 6–14; offense 9.2 percentile2021 Week 11: Minnesota at Iowa · L 22–27; offense 68.7 percentile2021 Week 12: Minnesota at Indiana · W 35–14; offense 70.8 percentile2021 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · W 23–13; offense 93.0 percentile2021 Week 1: Minnesota vs. West Virginia · W 18–6; offense 30.5 percentile2022 Week 1: Minnesota vs. New Mexico State · W 38–0; offense 97.7 percentile2022 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Western Illinois · W 62–10; offense 83.4 percentile2022 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Colorado · W 49–7; offense 90.7 percentile2022 Week 4: Minnesota at Michigan State · W 34–7; offense 97.0 percentile2022 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Purdue · L 10–20; offense 3.2 percentile2022 Week 7: Minnesota at Illinois · L 14–26; offense 76.2 percentile2022 Week 8: Minnesota at Penn State · L 17–45; offense 36.6 percentile2022 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 31–0; offense 62.7 percentile2022 Week 10: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 20–13; offense 44.8 percentile2022 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 31–3; offense 58.7 percentile2022 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 10–13; offense 79.1 percentile2022 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 23–16; offense 50.4 percentile2022 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Syracuse · W 28–20; offense 30.4 percentile2023 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 13–10; offense 26.3 percentile2023 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Eastern Michigan · W 25–6; offense 58.5 percentile2023 Week 3: Minnesota at North Carolina · L 13–31; offense 21.2 percentile2023 Week 4: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 34–37; offense 70.9 percentile2023 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Louisiana · W 35–24; offense 61.7 percentile2023 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 10–52; offense 60.7 percentile2023 Week 8: Minnesota at Iowa · W 12–10; offense 27.2 percentile2023 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · W 27–12; offense 43.3 percentile2023 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Illinois · L 26–27; offense 20.4 percentile2023 Week 11: Minnesota at Purdue · L 30–49; offense 66.8 percentile2023 Week 12: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 3–37; offense 22.6 percentile2023 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 14–28; offense 26.0 percentile2023 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green · W 30–24; offense 63.8 percentile2024 Week 1: Minnesota vs. North Carolina · L 17–19; offense 8.3 percentile2024 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Rhode Island · W 48–0; offense 30.1 percentile2024 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Nevada · W 27–0; offense 53.3 percentile2024 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 14–31; offense 42.8 percentile2024 Week 6: Minnesota vs. USC · W 24–17; offense 66.6 percentile2024 Week 7: Minnesota at UCLA · W 21–17; offense 17.6 percentile2024 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 48–23; offense 72.0 percentile2024 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · W 25–17; offense 60.6 percentile2024 Week 11: Minnesota at Rutgers · L 19–26; offense 9.1 percentile2024 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Penn State · L 25–26; offense 56.2 percentile2024 Week 14: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 24–7; offense 50.9 percentile2024 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech · W 24–10; offense 91.2 percentile2025 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Buffalo · W 23–10; offense 81.0 percentile2025 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Northwestern State · W 66–0; offense 54.3 percentile2025 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 31–28; offense 13.0 percentile2025 Week 6: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 3–42; offense 9.0 percentile2025 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 27–20; offense 0.8 percentile2025 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 24–6; offense 40.9 percentile2025 Week 9: Minnesota at Iowa · L 3–41; offense 9.4 percentile2025 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · W 23–20; offense 12.5 percentile2025 Week 12: Minnesota at Oregon · L 13–42; offense 59.7 percentile2025 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · L 35–38; offense 59.6 percentile2025 Week 14: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · W 17–7; offense 29.2 percentile2026 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Eastern Illinois · W 59–7; offense 46.8 percentile2026 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Mississippi State · L 13–38; offense 3.2 percentile2014 offense season mean: 55.4 percentile2015 offense season mean: 61.3 percentile2016 offense season mean: 42.5 percentile2017 offense season mean: 39.7 percentile2018 offense season mean: 61.3 percentile2019 offense season mean: 79.6 percentile2020 offense season mean: 68.9 percentile2021 offense season mean: 58.1 percentile2022 offense season mean: 66.1 percentile2023 offense season mean: 43.0 percentile2024 offense season mean: 45.2 percentile2025 offense season mean: 27.3 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 24.9 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 16.7 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Eastern Illinois · W 42–20; defense 70.2 percentile2014 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee · W 35–24; defense 71.0 percentile2014 Week 3: Minnesota at TCU · L 7–30; defense 82.5 percentile2014 Week 4: Minnesota vs. San José State · W 24–7; defense 70.5 percentile2014 Week 5: Minnesota at Michigan · W 30–14; defense 97.0 percentile2014 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 24–17; defense 43.3 percentile2014 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 39–38; defense 9.9 percentile2014 Week 9: Minnesota at Illinois · L 24–28; defense 86.7 percentile2014 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Iowa · W 51–14; defense 88.4 percentile2014 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Ohio State · L 24–31; defense 27.4 percentile2014 Week 13: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 28–24; defense 44.6 percentile2014 Week 14: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 24–34; defense 45.0 percentile2014 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Missouri · L 17–33; defense 34.9 percentile2015 Week 1: Minnesota vs. TCU · L 17–23; defense 76.1 percentile2015 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Kent State · W 10–7; defense 79.4 percentile2015 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Ohio · W 27–24; defense 32.2 percentile2015 Week 5: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 0–27; defense 43.4 percentile2015 Week 6: Minnesota at Purdue · W 41–13; defense 89.2 percentile2015 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · L 25–48; defense 12.0 percentile2015 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 26–29; defense 61.2 percentile2015 Week 10: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 14–28; defense 78.9 percentile2015 Week 11: Minnesota at Iowa · L 35–40; defense 5.8 percentile2015 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 32–23; defense 17.5 percentile2015 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 21–31; defense 34.9 percentile2015 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Central Michigan · W 21–14; defense 67.6 percentile2016 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Oregon State · W 30–23; defense 76.3 percentile2016 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Indiana State · W 58–28; defense 25.0 percentile2016 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Colorado State · W 31–24; defense 86.5 percentile2016 Week 5: Minnesota at Penn State · L 26–29; defense 76.9 percentile2016 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 7–14; defense 82.5 percentile2016 Week 7: Minnesota at Maryland · W 31–10; defense 77.6 percentile2016 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 34–32; defense 5.5 percentile2016 Week 9: Minnesota at Illinois · W 40–17; defense 69.0 percentile2016 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 44–31; defense 61.4 percentile2016 Week 11: Minnesota at Nebraska · L 17–24; defense 31.8 percentile2016 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 29–12; defense 89.2 percentile2016 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 17–31; defense 64.5 percentile2016 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Washington State · W 17–12; defense 95.1 percentile2017 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Buffalo · W 17–7; defense 95.8 percentile2017 Week 2: Minnesota at Oregon State · W 48–14; defense 69.9 percentile2017 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee · W 34–3; defense 96.3 percentile2017 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Maryland · L 24–31; defense 11.2 percentile2017 Week 6: Minnesota at Purdue · L 17–31; defense 13.6 percentile2017 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · L 27–30; defense 51.2 percentile2017 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 24–17; defense 36.6 percentile2017 Week 9: Minnesota at Iowa · L 10–17; defense 66.9 percentile2017 Week 10: Minnesota at Michigan · L 10–33; defense 5.8 percentile2017 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 54–21; defense 47.6 percentile2017 Week 12: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 0–39; defense 23.8 percentile2017 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 0–31; defense 17.3 percentile2018 Week 1: Minnesota vs. New Mexico State · W 48–10; defense 93.8 percentile2018 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Fresno State · W 21–14; defense 86.6 percentile2018 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Miami (OH) · W 26–3; defense 94.1 percentile2018 Week 4: Minnesota at Maryland · L 13–42; defense 8.1 percentile2018 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 31–48; defense 42.2 percentile2018 Week 7: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 14–30; defense 45.1 percentile2018 Week 8: Minnesota at Nebraska · L 28–53; defense 6.7 percentile2018 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Indiana · W 38–31; defense 52.8 percentile2018 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · L 31–55; defense 5.2 percentile2018 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 41–10; defense 94.3 percentile2018 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · L 14–24; defense 52.1 percentile2018 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 37–15; defense 82.8 percentile2018 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech · W 34–10; defense 92.0 percentile2019 Week 1: Minnesota vs. South Dakota State · W 28–21; defense 5.6 percentile2019 Week 2: Minnesota at Fresno State · W 38–35; defense 47.5 percentile2019 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Georgia Southern · W 35–32; defense 68.1 percentile2019 Week 5: Minnesota at Purdue · W 38–31; defense 55.6 percentile2019 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Illinois · W 40–17; defense 76.4 percentile2019 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 34–7; defense 85.2 percentile2019 Week 8: Minnesota at Rutgers · W 42–7; defense 78.4 percentile2019 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 52–10; defense 56.2 percentile2019 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Penn State · W 31–26; defense 23.0 percentile2019 Week 12: Minnesota at Iowa · L 19–23; defense 39.4 percentile2019 Week 13: Minnesota at Northwestern · W 38–22; defense 53.5 percentile2019 Week 14: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 17–38; defense 18.8 percentile2019 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Auburn · W 31–24; defense 85.4 percentile2020 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 24–49; defense 2.6 percentile2020 Week 9: Minnesota at Maryland · L 44–45; defense 3.0 percentile2020 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · W 41–14; defense 82.5 percentile2020 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 7–35; defense 12.2 percentile2020 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 34–31; defense 4.1 percentile2020 Week 15: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 24–17; defense 77.0 percentile2020 Week 16: Minnesota at Wisconsin · L 17–20; defense 50.2 percentile2021 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Ohio State · L 31–45; defense 14.5 percentile2021 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Miami (OH) · W 31–26; defense 52.9 percentile2021 Week 3: Minnesota at Colorado · W 30–0; defense 99.7 percentile2021 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green · L 10–14; defense 88.5 percentile2021 Week 5: Minnesota at Purdue · W 20–13; defense 75.2 percentile2021 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 30–23; defense 81.2 percentile2021 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 34–16; defense 76.9 percentile2021 Week 9: Minnesota at Northwestern · W 41–14; defense 51.1 percentile2021 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Illinois · L 6–14; defense 60.9 percentile2021 Week 11: Minnesota at Iowa · L 22–27; defense 44.3 percentile2021 Week 12: Minnesota at Indiana · W 35–14; defense 53.6 percentile2021 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · W 23–13; defense 96.6 percentile2021 Week 1: Minnesota vs. West Virginia · W 18–6; defense 88.7 percentile2022 Week 1: Minnesota vs. New Mexico State · W 38–0; defense 96.2 percentile2022 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Western Illinois · W 62–10; defense 79.9 percentile2022 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Colorado · W 49–7; defense 83.8 percentile2022 Week 4: Minnesota at Michigan State · W 34–7; defense 74.2 percentile2022 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Purdue · L 10–20; defense 55.2 percentile2022 Week 7: Minnesota at Illinois · L 14–26; defense 12.9 percentile2022 Week 8: Minnesota at Penn State · L 17–45; defense 20.7 percentile2022 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 31–0; defense 94.5 percentile2022 Week 10: Minnesota at Nebraska · W 20–13; defense 74.5 percentile2022 Week 11: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · W 31–3; defense 62.9 percentile2022 Week 12: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 10–13; defense 57.8 percentile2022 Week 13: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 23–16; defense 61.4 percentile2022 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Syracuse · W 28–20; defense 49.1 percentile2023 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 13–10; defense 40.9 percentile2023 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Eastern Michigan · W 25–6; defense 71.6 percentile2023 Week 3: Minnesota at North Carolina · L 13–31; defense 48.9 percentile2023 Week 4: Minnesota at Northwestern · L 34–37; defense 39.0 percentile2023 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Louisiana · W 35–24; defense 54.9 percentile2023 Week 6: Minnesota vs. Michigan · L 10–52; defense 11.7 percentile2023 Week 8: Minnesota at Iowa · W 12–10; defense 93.5 percentile2023 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · W 27–12; defense 27.0 percentile2023 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Illinois · L 26–27; defense 49.0 percentile2023 Week 11: Minnesota at Purdue · L 30–49; defense 1.3 percentile2023 Week 12: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 3–37; defense 14.6 percentile2023 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · L 14–28; defense 14.4 percentile2023 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green · W 30–24; defense 71.8 percentile2024 Week 1: Minnesota vs. North Carolina · L 17–19; defense 72.6 percentile2024 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Rhode Island · W 48–0; defense 79.6 percentile2024 Week 3: Minnesota vs. Nevada · W 27–0; defense 87.4 percentile2024 Week 4: Minnesota vs. Iowa · L 14–31; defense 32.3 percentile2024 Week 6: Minnesota vs. USC · W 24–17; defense 42.6 percentile2024 Week 7: Minnesota at UCLA · W 21–17; defense 68.7 percentile2024 Week 9: Minnesota vs. Maryland · W 48–23; defense 46.5 percentile2024 Week 10: Minnesota at Illinois · W 25–17; defense 46.4 percentile2024 Week 11: Minnesota at Rutgers · L 19–26; defense 82.0 percentile2024 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Penn State · L 25–26; defense 82.9 percentile2024 Week 14: Minnesota at Wisconsin · W 24–7; defense 99.3 percentile2024 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech · W 24–10; defense 93.2 percentile2025 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Buffalo · W 23–10; defense 94.8 percentile2025 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Northwestern State · W 66–0; defense 82.9 percentile2025 Week 5: Minnesota vs. Rutgers · W 31–28; defense 44.6 percentile2025 Week 6: Minnesota at Ohio State · L 3–42; defense 22.6 percentile2025 Week 7: Minnesota vs. Purdue · W 27–20; defense 20.0 percentile2025 Week 8: Minnesota vs. Nebraska · W 24–6; defense 93.0 percentile2025 Week 9: Minnesota at Iowa · L 3–41; defense 59.7 percentile2025 Week 10: Minnesota vs. Michigan State · W 23–20; defense 26.3 percentile2025 Week 12: Minnesota at Oregon · L 13–42; defense 10.0 percentile2025 Week 13: Minnesota vs. Northwestern · L 35–38; defense 6.1 percentile2025 Week 14: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin · W 17–7; defense 39.5 percentile2026 Week 1: Minnesota vs. Eastern Illinois · W 59–7; defense 65.5 percentile2026 Week 2: Minnesota vs. Mississippi State · L 13–38; defense 2.7 percentile2014 defense season mean: 62.2 percentile2015 defense season mean: 48.7 percentile2016 defense season mean: 66.6 percentile2017 defense season mean: 45.2 percentile2018 defense season mean: 60.4 percentile2019 defense season mean: 52.8 percentile2020 defense season mean: 23.5 percentile2021 defense season mean: 74.6 percentile2022 defense season mean: 66.3 percentile2023 defense season mean: 38.1 percentile2024 defense season mean: 74.9 percentile2025 defense season mean: 45.8 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 40.6 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 22.3 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2015Jerry Kill / Tracy Claeys
2016Tracy Claeys
2017P.J. Fleck

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateP.J. Fleck2
24.9 estimate16.7 games-only average
40.6 estimate22.3 games-only average
2025P.J. Fleck1127.345.8
2024P.J. Fleck1245.274.9
2023P.J. Fleck1343.038.1
2022P.J. Fleck1366.166.3
2021P.J. Fleck1358.174.6
2020P.J. Fleck768.923.5
2019P.J. Fleck1379.652.8
2018P.J. Fleck1361.360.4
2017P.J. FleckCoaching change1239.745.2
2016Tracy ClaeysCoaching change1342.566.6
2015Jerry Kill / Tracy ClaeysCoaching change1261.348.7
2014Jerry Kill1355.462.2