Minnesota Gophers Likely Bowl Destination Revealed

By Ted Schwerzler |

Updated: Dec 2, 2024

PJ Fleck, Minnesota — Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Gophers put a bow on their regular season this past weekend in knocking off a bad Wisconsin team. They were already bowl eligible, but sending the Badgers into the offseason and handing them a losing record was a nice way to conclude the schedule. It’s now bowl prep season for P.J. Fleck and it appears that the destination has revealed itself.

Mayo bath incoming for Minnesota Gophers P.J. Fleck

For quite some time a ceremonial Gatorade bath has been the way to congratulate a coach following a victory. The Duke’s Mayo Bowl dumping a condiment all over the dome of the winning head coach is the new wave. That’s exactly what P.J. Fleck could be looking at in a couple of weeks.

Source with #Gophers football tells me it’s likely the team will be heading to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Jan 3. Nothing definitive yet but it’s trending in that direction
— Pierre Noujaim (@TheNoujFOX9) December 1, 2024

Although Noujaim cautions that nothing is official, he is plenty connected. As a host of the P.J. Fleck Show on Fox 9, the reporter has a direct line to the top source in the Gophers football program. Bowl announcements will start to trickle out in the coming days as conference championship week is upon us.

Bowl projections have shifted for weeks and multiple destinations for Minnesota have come up. The Gophers became bowl eligible after knocking off a ranked Illinois team on the road. They could have aimed even higher by playing to their abilities against Rutgers, or finishing a complete game against Penn State. Even still, the 7-5 record is better than what was expected of them, and a January bowl game is hardly a bad result.

MAYO BATH pic.twitter.com/GQh03Beue1
— Duke's Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) December 30, 2021

The Duke’s Mayo Bowl takes place on January 3, 2025. They have had representatives in person at Huntington Bank Stadium, and there have been multiple results that make them a worthy selection. The opponent won’t be known until a further level of confirmation is achieved, but Syracuse has been a rumored name. The Orange have former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord under center, and they knocked off #8 Miami on Saturday to finish 9-3. A win for Minnesota against an opponent of that ilk would be a substantial one.

Daniel Jackson with an AMAZING catch for @GopherFootball. pic.twitter.com/yOngaMWf43
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 29, 2024

A bowl game will be the final opportunity to see Max Brosmer and Daniel Jackson in a Gophers uniform. The quarterback will go down as one of the best in program history, and both should find themselves as legitimate draft prospects in April.