1921 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–4 (2–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainLarry Teberg
Home stadiumNorthrop Field
Seasons
← 1920
1922 →
1921 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Iowa $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Chicago 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0
Ohio State 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 1 – 1
Michigan 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 1 – 1
Indiana 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Illinois 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Purdue 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1921 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1921 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 22nd and final year under head coach Henry L. Williams, the Golden Gophers compiled a 3–4 record (2–4 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and were outscored by their opponents by a combined score of 141 to 60.[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 1North Dakota*
W 19–08,000
October 8Northwestern
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 28–015,000[2]
October 15at Ohio State
L 0–2722,000
October 22Indiana
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 6–020,000
October 29at Wisconsin
L 0–3524,000
November 5Iowadagger
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
L 7–4123,000
November 191:00 p.m.at Michigan
L 0–3830,000–33,000

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 7: Minnesota at Michigan
1 234Total
Minnesota 0 000 0
• Michigan 10 7714 38
  • Date: November 19, 1921
  • Location: Ferry Field
    Ann Arbor, MI
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 30,000
  • Referee: Hackett (West Point)

In the final game of the 1921 season, Minnesota lost to Michigan by a 38–0 score. The game was played at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before a crowd estimated at 33,000 spectators,[3] first in drizzling rain and then in cold weather.[4] Prior to the start of the game, a ceremony was held dedicating a bronze memorial tablet honoring four Michigan athletes who died in World War I.[5][6]

Michigan's quarterback Irwin Uteritz scored two touchdowns, including a 65-yard interception return that the Detroit Free Press called "the most thrilling achievement of the afternoon."[4] Michigan end Clark Dean added a field goal from the 50-yard line that the Free Press called "the longest of the season, and, in most respects, the greatest any Michigan man ever exhibited to the gaze of paid spectators."[4] Franklin Cappon scored on a 60-yard touchdown run, and Paul G. Goebel kicked all five extra points and, unguarded late in the game, scored a touchdown on a 30-yard pass from Doug Roby that the Free Press called Michigan's "most spectacular pass" since 1907. Frank Steketee also scored a touchdown when he jumped on a Cappon fumble in the end zone.[4] The game marked the worst defeat that a Minnesota football team had suffered to that point in the program's history, exceeding a 41–7 loss to Iowa earlier in the 1921 season.[4]

References

  1. ^ "1921 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. ^ James Crusinberry (October 9, 1921). "Purple Beaten by Strong Team of Gophers, 28-0". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Attendance at the Football Games". The Michigan Alumnus. December 8, 1921. p. 276.
  4. ^ a b c d e Harry Bullion (November 21, 1921). "U. of M. Romps Over Gophers, 38–0—Iowa Captures Conference Title: Brilliant Sprints, Hurls Aid Yostmen; Norsemen Bewildered and Swept Aside by Driving Michigan Attack; Dean's Place Kick Features With Long Runs by Cappon, Et Al; Yostmen Score on Trick Pass Near Windup". Detroit Free Press. p. 23. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "In Honor of Michigan's "M" Men Who Died During the War". The Michigan Alumnus. November 24, 1921. p. 200.
  6. ^ "Sidelights of the Game". The Michigan Alumnus. November 24, 1921. p. 210.
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