Football

A down year in the Big Ten Conference will likely cause the University of Minnesota to receive less money from football bowl revenues despite the team's first postseason appearance since 2009.

On Sunday, the Gophers accepted an invitation to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. They had lobbied to get into the bowl, which will be played Dec. 28 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

But they’ll only receive a small fraction of the $1.7 million the Big Ten receives for the University’s bowl appearance.

Keanon Cooper’s family has never seen him play a college football game in person.

Good thing there’s bowl season.

Minnesota has accepted an invitation to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston against Texas Tech on Dec. 28.

It’s about a three-hour drive from where Cooper grew up on the outskirts of Dallas.

“It’s big … for them to have the opportunity to see me play at least once,” Cooper said.

Minnesota boasts 12 other Texas natives on its roster.

Gophers head coach Jerry Kill has stressed all season that he has a young football team.

On Monday, some of the older guys on the squad took home a few accolades to close out their careers.

Minnesota senior defensive lineman D.L. Wilhite was named second team All-Big Ten by the media, but he was left out in the coaches’ selections.

Michael Carter, Ra’Shede Hageman and Troy Stoudermire received honorable mentions in the media’s selections. Carter was the only Gophers player to receive an honorable mention in the coaches’ selections.

Le’Veon Bell is about as good as advertised. And the Gophers found out the hard way against Michigan State.

Bell entered Saturday as the second-leading rusher in the Big Ten, but he took over the top spot after rushing for a career-high 266 yards against the Gophers.

Minnesota has struggled with stopping the run all year, but Bell took it to a whole different level on Saturday. Bell displayed both power and patience on the ground.

For 15 Gophers seniors, Saturday’s game will be their last at TCF Bank Stadium.

“[I’m] closing a chapter,” senior MarQueis Gray said. “I’ve done a lot of things here. Been through a lot. Overcame a lot.”

Nebraska drubbed the Gophers last weekend. Minnesota won its sixth game of the season to become bowl eligible Nov. 10, which detracted from the team’s focus against the Cornhuskers, senior linebacker Mike Rallis said.

Gophers head football coach Jerry Kill  defended himself Monday in response to former wide receiver A.J. Barker ’s allegations of mistreatment.

Barker announced Sunday on Twitter that he was quitting the Gophers football team. He subsequently posted a more than 4,000-word open letter to his Tumblr account, accusing Kill and members of his staff of mishandling Barker’s ankle injury. He highlighted several instances of alleged mistreatment and accused Kill of using manipulative tactics.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Philip Nelson watched backup quarterbacks Max Shortell and MarQueis Gray guide Minnesota to its only two scores Saturday.

Nelson, a true freshman, was benched early in the fourth quarter after the worst performance of his young career.

“I think [the coaches] just wanted to have me sit back and watch a little bit and learn from that last quarter,” Nelson said.

“It’s embarrassing, but at the same time you hold your head high, and you learn from it.”

His play Saturday proved he still has a lot to learn.