The college football season concluded late Monday night with Indiana edging Miami in the national championship game, so it’s time to turn the page and look ahead to next season. The Gophers, coming off an 8-5 season in 2025, know their 12 regular-season opponents. They also know the dates for thei r three nonconference games, but are still waiting for the Big Ten to share when they will play their nine conference matchups. Here’s an initial look at what lies ahead for Minnesota next fall: Another champion incoming For a third straight season, Minnesota will play the reigning national champion, with an upcoming trip to Bloomington to play the Hoosiers. Coming off a 16-0 season, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is expected to reload for 2026 and has brought in a transfer portal class ranked within the top 10 in the nation. The Hoosiers wave goodbye to Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza as he prepares to be the likely No. 1 pick in the NFL draft in April. Indiana signed TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover to take the reins; he is veteran with 9,629 passing yards and 71 touchdown passes in 36 games for the Horned Frogs. In 2024, Minnesota lost to Michigan 27-24 in Ann Arbor, and in October, the U fell 42-3 to Ohio State in Columbus. One nonconference test The U opens next season with Eastern Illinois at home on Thursday, Sept. 3 and close nonconference play with Akron on Sept. 19. But the meat between those two pieces of cheap white bread is a home contest with Mississippi State on Sept. 12. It’s the Gophers first game against an SEC opponent since the victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl in New Year’s Day 2020. Last fall, Mississippi State went 5-8 overall and 1-7 in SEC play. After a rash of teams opted out of bowl games, the Bulldogs took a spot, went to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and lost to Wake Forest 43-29 in Charlotte. Sail-gating anyone? From top to bottom, the Gophers will never have such an outstanding and unique road schedule as they enjoyed last season. They played Northwestern at Wrigley Field, at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium and Ohio State’s Horseshoe. The U made its first trip to Eugene, Ore., to play the Ducks in Autzen Stadium and went out to the Bay Area to play the California Golden Bears in Berkeley. For how great the locales were, traveling fans had to endure an 0-5 record in those games. The 2026 road schedule has one clear-cut gem: a trip to Seattle to play the Washington Huskies. It will be Minnesota’s first trip there since 1976. Husky Stadium has a picturesque setting on the shores of Lake Washington and instead of tailgating, they are known for sail-gating out on the water. Next fall, the Gophers will also go on the road to play at Penn State and new head coach Matt Campbell, but likely won’t be the Nittany Lions’ “white out” game in Happy Valley. That tradition went to Minnesota in 2022 and ended in a 45-17 blowout loss. The U’s upcoming road schedule also includes Purdue and rival Wisconsin after Minnesota kept Paul Bunyan’s Axe with a 17-7 win on Nov. 29. Tough home games The toughest home game next season will be Michigan. The Wolverines’ new head coach, Kyle Wittingham, brings a hard-nosed approach over from Utah and will look to stabilize the traditional power after the scandalous exit of Sheronne Moore. The second-toughest game in Minneapolis will be the Hawkeyes, which Minnesota has beat only one time in the last 10 since 2015. Minnesota will also host Northwestern, which beat the U 38-35 in Chicago last fall, and UCLA. The Bruins new head coach, Bob Chesney, succeeded Cignetti at James Madison after the 2023 season. He went 21-6 at JMU and took them to the College Football Playoff this season. Minnesota went 7-0 at home in 2025 and another undefeated more would be a much bigger accomplishment this fall. Related Articles Ranking the Gophers’ top 10 transfer portal additions Koi Perich is going to Oregon. Where are other Gophers transfers headed? Ex-Gophers star Koi Perich commits to Oregon over Texas Tech Gophers add fourth defensive lineman to transfer portal class Gophers take another running back transfer in Elon’s TJ Thomas ...read more read less