The 2016 season's largest margin: Minnesota 58, Indiana State 28. A 30-point win — the year's high-water mark.
2016 — The Winning Chapter
Minnesota's 2016 season (9-4) is a middle chapter: table-stakes progress, no crown in the ledger, the program still writing the book.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Mitch LeidnerQB2,169 passing yards
- Rodney SmithRB1,158 rushing yards
- Shannon BrooksRB650 rushing yards
- Kobe McCraryRB242 rushing yards
- Drew WolitarskyWR860 receiving yards
- Rashad StillWR349 receiving yards
- Brian SmithWR279 receiving yards
- Damarius TravisDB83 tackles
- Jonathan CelestinLB80 tackles
- Jack LynnLB77 tackles
- Blake CashmanLB7.5 sacks
- Steven RichardsonDL7 sacks
- Hendrick EkpeDL3.5 sacks
Season leaders, 2016.
The season's deepest loss: Minnesota 17, Wisconsin 31. A 14-point margin the season is remembered by.
The season's last act: Minnesota beat Washington State 17-12 in the postseason.
"Row the boat"
2016 is a middle chapter for Minnesota — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.