Minnesota's gameday atmosphere has been years in the making ahead of Mississippi State

Minnesota's gameday atmosphere has been years in the making ahead of Mississippi State

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Minnesota's gameday atmosphere has been years in the making ahead of Mississippi State

The last time Gophers football hosted a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Minneapolis, they played at Memorial Stadium against Vanderbilt in 1959. It will be a much different look against Mississippi State at Huntington Bank Stadium this Saturday, and it’s a gameday environment that has been years in the making.

Minnesota finally returned to an on-campus stadium in 2009, and it has been a long journey building Huntington Bank Stadium (HBS) into a gameday atmosphere that opponents groaned when seeing the Block M on the schedule. It’s far from the Big Ten’s top tier like Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan, but it has reached a respectable mid-tier point.

Now more than ever, many top programs are struggling to draw consistent fans. HBS seats just over 50,000, but the Gophers’ student section and atmosphere around campus for a game against an FCS bottom dweller like Eastern Illinois was impressive when compared to schools like USC. The fanbase is engaged, and they care, no matter who they play, which can’t be said for every Big Ten program in a similar situation, nor the Gophers in years past.

The Gophers won eight consecutive home games, and they are 12-3 in Minneapolis dating back to the start of the 2024 season. With the introduction of the new Vikings “ROW” chant before kickoff, and real traditions, P.J. Fleck has objectively improved Minnesota’s gameday atmosphere since arriving in 2017. Where that ranks in the Big Ten is a different story, but those types of things do not happen overnight; it takes years.

“I’d love to thank our student section,” Fleck said on Monday. “I thought that was absolutely awesome for Game 1, with school not even in session yet. Having our student body perform the way they did, I am incredibly thankful to be their head football coach, because that was an incredible atmosphere they created.”

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This week’s game against Mississippi State will put the Gophers’ gameday atmosphere to the test. It’s just the third nonconference home game against a power conference opponent since Fleck arrived in 2017. Highly-touted Bulldogs QB Kamario Taylor will be making his first start on the road, and Minnesota’s crowd will need to make him feel the moment.

“This week, playing against Mississippi State, an SEC opponent coming into Huntington Bank Stadium, Gold Out, should be an elite environment. This is what college football is all about,” Fleck continued. “I was just asked that on the radio about playing Mississippi State, and why wouldn’t you? You know, I mean, this is what college, the fans want to see these types of matchups.

“You look at last night- whether it was Ole Miss and Louisville, Notre Dame, Wisconsin- you can go throughout the whole weekend. I mean, those are probably the most viewed games, right? And you want those things. You want those things for your fans. You want those things for your players. And I’m excited for the matchup.”

The SEC fans love to talk about how great their gameday atmospheres are. Saturday is Minnesota’s opportunity to take another step in its improvement. Class is in session; the weather is expected to be great, and it’s an SEC opponent on CBS at 2:30 p.m. local time. There are no excuses for the Gophers’ fans not to show up. Gophers football has gone through a lot of different eras, and Saturday feels like a golden opportunity to kick-start a new one.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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