Roller-coaster ride
The Gophers have 16 seniors who'll be in their final home game Saturday, and seven of those are fifth-year seniors who arrived at Minnesota before the 2013 season and have seen more than they bargained for. A look back:
2013: Hope returns
Coming off their first bowl in three years, the Gophers had a record crowd at the spring game, opened with four wins and rattled off another four-game streak that featured wins over Nebraska and Penn State and put them in the coaches' Top 25 poll. The 8-5 season ended with a loss in the Texas Bowl.
2014: January football
An 8-4 season put the Gophers in their first New Year's Day bowl in more than 50 years. And while Missouri won the Citrus Bowl 33-17, the Gophers found footing near the top of the Big Ten West.
2015: Shocking change
Solid footing disappeared on Oct. 28, when Jerry Kill retired for health reasons. Tracy Claeys took over, and the Gophers slumped to a 5-7 record.
2016: Disgrace
A sexual assault allegation after the first game defined the fall. Suspensions and appeals followed, and the team staged a two-day boycott in December, objecting to how suspensions were handled. On the field, Claeys' Gophers won their ninth game at the Holiday Bowl, beating Washington State 17-12.
2017: Full change – again
Fifth-year seniors started their final year with another new coach. P.J. Fleck was hired in January from Western Michigan, and the energetic new man remade everything about the program. Upperclassmen helped the Gophers get to 3-0 before the losing began. Seniors have one more shot: Saturday vs. Wisconsin. A loss almost certainly means their careers are over.
