1931 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1931 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–3 (3–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPClarence Munn
CaptainClarence Munn
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1930
1932 →
1931 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Purdue + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Michigan + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 1
No. 4 Northwestern + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1
Ohio State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Indiana 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 5 – 1
Chicago 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
Iowa 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 6 – 1
Illinois 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1931 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1931 college football season. In their second year under head coach Fritz Crisler, the Golden Gophers compiled a 7–3 record, shut out four opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined score of 191 to 72.[1]

Guard Clarence Munn was selected as the team's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year.[2] Munn was also a consensus first-team player on the 1931 College Football All-America Team.[3] Munn also received Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded to the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.[4]

Two Golden Gophers received first-team honors on the 1931 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Munn and fullback Jack Manders both received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press (UP).[5][6]

Total attendance for the season was 115,631, which averaged to 23,126. The season high for attendance was against rival Wisconsin.[7]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26North Dakota Agricultural*
W 13–715,000[8]
September 26Ripon*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 30–015,000[9]
October 3Oklahoma A&M*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 20–020,000[10]
October 10at Stanford*
L 13–732,000[11]
October 24Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
W 34–025,000[12]
October 31Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
W 14–052,000[13]
November 7at Northwestern
L 14–3242,000[14]
November 14Cornell (IA)*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 47–710,000[15]
November 21at Michigan
L 0–637,251[16]
November 28Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 19–725,000[17]
  • *Non-conference game

Roster

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 8: Minnesota at Michigan
1 234Total
Minnesota 0 000 0
• Michigan 6 000 6

On November 21, 1931, Minnesota lost to Michigan by a 6 to 0 score at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's only points came on a 56-yard run by Bill Hewitt in the first quarter.[16]

References

  1. ^ "1931 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 181[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "Clarence Munn Wins Valuable Player Award". Burlington Hawk-Eye. December 27, 1931. p. 11.
  5. ^ Paul Mickelson (November 24, 1931). "Northwestern Places Five Players on Two All-Western Elevens". The Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. AP. p. 4A.
  6. ^ George Kirksey (November 24, 1931). "United Press All Big Ten Selections for 1931". The Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Pennsylvania. p. 10.
  7. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Gophers whip Bison, 13–7". The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. September 27, 1931. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Minnesota eleven beats Ripon and N. Dakota Aggies". The Wisconsin State Journal. September 27, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Minnesota Gophers top Oklahoma Aggies, 20–0". The Chattanooga Times. October 4, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Stanford wins from Gophers". The Los Angeles Times. October 11, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "MacDougall stars as Gophers whip Hawkeyes, 32 to 0". The La Crosse Tribune. October 25, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gophers trim Wisconsin". The Des Moines Register. November 1, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Late attack nets victory for Cats". The Chattanooga Times. November 8, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Cornell loses to Minnesota". Sioux City Journal. November 15, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Wilfrid Smith (November 22, 1931). "Wolverines' Line Halts Gopher Backs; Hewitt Runs 56 Yards". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  17. ^ "Gophers turn back Buckeyes". The Muncie Sunday Star. November 29, 1931. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.