Georgia Tech Football: Five things to know about Minnesota

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MADISON, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (center) celebrates with his team after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 37-15 at Camp Randall Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Georgia Tech football takes on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Quick Lane Bowl on December 26th and here are five things you should know about the Gophers.

1) Minnesota might be better than their record indicates, they might be worse

Okay, this can probably be said about every team in the country but when you look at Minnesota’s record and schedule this season, it truly is hard to tell what team the Jackets will face in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Minnesota will enter the Quick Lane Bowl with a 6-6 record overall and a 3-6 record in Big Ten conference play. The Gophers led by second-year head coach P.J Fleck went 3-0 in non-conference games during the regular season including a victory over Fresno State, who lost just one game the remainder of the season.

In conference play, the Gophers picked up wins over Indiana, Purdue, and Wisconsin. While none of those programs were world beaters this season, they were all quality Big Ten programs. Indiana plays every team tough, Purdue upset Ohio State, and Wisconsin coming into this year was one of the most consistent programs in the nation. When you add the win over Fresno State, that’s four quality wins for a 6-6 program.

That being said, you also see why they lost six games this season when looking at their schedule. Losses to Maryland, Nebraska, and Illinois highlight the low points of the season for the Gophers. All three of those teams finished below .500 on the season with Maryland going 5-7 while Nebraska and Illinois both finished at 4-8.

So is Minnesota the team that beat Fresno State, Indiana, Purdue, and Wisconsin? Or are they the team that beat Maryland, Nebraska, and Illinois?