Gophers opt out of bowl games, 2020 season is over

Following Minnesota‘s 20-17 overtime loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, head coach P.J. Fleck was asked if the Gophers would elect to play in a bowl game if asked.

The answer came Sunday: No.

In a brief press release issued by the team, Minnesota said it would “decline the opportunity to compete in a bowl this year.”

The school said the “decision was made by Athletics leadership, head coach P.J. Fleck and the football team.”

The Gophers played seven games in 2020, finishing with a 3-4 record. The Big Ten’s season was canceled over the summer then brought back in the fall, with a eight-game schedule with no off weeks and a final “championship week.”

Minnesota had to cancel two games during the season due to COVID-19 and then took the field without over 30 players due to the coronvirus and injuries for its regular-season finale against Nebraska, which it won 24-17. One player, wide receiver Rashod Bateman, opted out of the season after the first game — a Nov. 27 game against Wisconsin — was called off.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes has always been our first priority,” Fleck said in a statement. “They invested a tremendous amount of physical and mental energy into competing in the Big Ten season this year and proudly represented Minnesota. The season was filled with daily off-field adversity caused by the pandemic, but their desire to play never wavered and they sacrificed so much in their personal lives to be able to compete in the Maroon and Gold this year. Right now, our focus is strictly on their well-being off the field, and we look forward to them being able to responsibly spend some of the remaining holiday season with family and loved ones. We will return our attention to football when everyone is back on campus in mid-January.”