1969 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1969 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–5–1 (4–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Murray Warmath (16th season)
MVP	Ray Parson
Captain	Jim Carter
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1968 1970  →

1969 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Michigan +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Purdue	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Iowa	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Michigan State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1969 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 16th year under head coach Murray Warmath, the Golden Gophers compiled a 4-5-1 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 257 to 210. ^[1]

End Ray Paron received the team's Most Valuable Player award. Parson was also named All-Big Ten first team. Linebacker Noel Jenke, halfback Barry Mayer and defensive lineman Leon Trawick were named Academic All-Big Ten. ^[2] The team included offensive lineman, Richard Fliehr, better known as professional wrestler Ric Flair.

Total attendance at six home games was 272,449, an average of 45,417 per game. The largest crowd was against Ohio State. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20		at Arizona State *	No. 19	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 26–48	50,202	[4]
September 27	1:30 p.m.	Ohio *		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	T 35–35	41,235	[5]
October 4		Nebraska *		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 14–42	52,136	[6]
October 11		at Indiana		Seventeenth Street Football Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 7–17	52,804	[7]
October 18		No. 1 Ohio State		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 7–34	53,016	[8]
October 25		Michigan		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	L 9–35	44,028	[9]
November 1		at Iowa		Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 35–8	56,413	[10]
November 8		Northwestern		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 28–21	41,576	[11]
November 15		at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 14–10	60,011	[12]
November 22		Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 35–10	40,458	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[14]

Roster

1969 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB 34 Jim Carter Sr QB 10 Craig Curry So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 27 Jeff Wright Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Murray Warmath Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1969 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
2. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Gophers fall by 48 to 26". Omaha World-Herald. September 21, 1969. Retrieved September 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Gophers, Ohio tie, 35–35, Hagen completes 15 of 25". The Eau Claire Leader. September 28, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cornhuskers eradicate Gophers, 42–14". The Odessa American. October 5, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "I.U. beats Minnesota with Gopher-style attack". The South Bend Tribune. October 12, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Fumbling Gophers fall". Grand Forks Herald. October 19, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. Curt Sylvester (October 26, 1969). "M Wins 'Must' Game: Taylor Rips Gophers, 35–9". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 5C – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gophers tally biggest edge over Iowa in 20 years, 35–8". Chicago Tribune. November 2, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gophers defeat Wildcats on Ernie Cook's touchdown". Argus-Leader. November 9, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Gophers hold; Spartans' bid intercepted". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 16, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Gophers slug UW". The Duluth News Tribune. November 23, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Schedule/Results (1969 Minnesota)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved October 22, 2025.