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University of Minnesota Athletics
Holiday Bowl: Minnesota vs. Washington State
12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
| Minnesota (8-4; 5-4) vs. Washington State (8-4; 7-2) | |
| Date | Tuesday, Dec. 27 |
| Time | 6 p.m. Central |
| Location | Qualcomm Stadium (70,561 capacity) |
| Television | ESPN l Watch ESPN |
| Radio | 100.3 KFAN | Gopher Radio Network |
| Notes, Live Stats | Game Notes l |
| Social Media | @GopherFootball | Facebook | Instagram |
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Minnesota will face Washington State in the 2016 National Funding Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. The 2016 Holiday Bowl will mark the 39th staging of the game, but it will be the first time that Minnesota will play in the historic bowl. The contest will also mark Minnesota's first bowl game in California since it beat UCLA 21-3 in the 1962 Rose Bowl. The Gophers have played Washington State five times and are 2-3 all-time against the Pac-12 member. All five games were contested in Minneapolis, but the teams have not met since 1988. Minnesota beat Washington State in 1976 and 1982 and fell to the Cougars in 1965, 1971 and 1988.
2. Minnesota will play in its fifth straight bowl game and 19th overall against Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. The streak of five consecutive bowls is tied for the longest stretch in program history, as the Gophers also played in five straight bowls from 2002-06. Minnesota ended a seven-game bowl losing streak last year at the Quick Lane Bowl.
3. Minnesota and Washington State represent a rarity in college football in that their head coaches did not play football at the collegiate level. Minnesota's Tracy Claeys attended both Kansas and Kansas State and graduated with a degree in Mathematics Education from Kansas State. Washington State's Mike Leach graduated from BYU and went to Pepperdine for law school. He did play rugby at BYU.
4. This year's senior class (2013-16) has won 30 games (8 in 2013, 8 in 2014, 6 in 2015 and 8 in 2016), which is the most since 2006 when that class also won 30. The 2005 class won 32 games (8 in 2002, 10 in 2003, 7 in 2004 and 7 in 2005). Prior to the 2005 class, the last class to win at least 30 games was the 1905 class as it won 46 games (9 in 1902, 14 in 1903, 13 in 1904 and 10 in 1905). This year's seniors were 20-8 at TCF Bank Stadium. Minnesota is 8-4 this year and also won eight games in 2013 and 2014. The last time Minnesota won eight games three times in a four-year span was 1903-05 (14, 13 and 10 wins). The Gophers have now won at least eight games in a season 20 times in school history and nine times since 1942 (six times since 1968). The last time the Gophers won nine games in a season was 2003 when they won 10 games. Before that it was 1905 (10 wins).
5. Minnesota was 5-4 in the Big Ten this year and had a winning conference record for the second time in three years (5-3 in 2014). Prior to 2014, Minnesota last had a winning Big Ten record in 2003 (5-3). The last time Minnesota had a winning Big Ten record in two out of three years was 1968 (5-2 in B1G) and 1969 (4-3 in B1G). Since 1970, Minnesota has now had a winning record in the Big Ten seven times (1973, 1986, 1990, 1999, 2003, 2014 and 2016). Minnesota started 0-2 in the Big Ten, but then rattled off four straight wins. The Gophers last won four straight Big Ten games in 2013. Tracy Claeys was the acting head coach in 2013 when Minnesota won those four games, as then-head coach Jerry Kill was dealing with health issues. Prior to 2013, the last time Minnesota won four straight Big Ten games was in 1973.
