Mark the calendar for an early-season Saturday: the Gophers and Akron are set to play September 19, 2026, with an 11 a.m. kickoff, per the University of Minnesota Athletics 2026 football schedule. Home/away designation for the game hasn't been published yet.
This one slots into a busy opening stretch for Minnesota. The Gophers kick off their 2026 season September 3 against Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m., then turn around and host Mississippi State September 12 at 2:30 p.m. before the Akron matchup rounds out that early three-game run. It's the kind of schedule that gives fans a look at the team early and often before the Big Ten grind starts.
After Akron, the slate turns straight into conference business — Washington comes to town September 26, followed by a big one against Michigan on October 3 and then Purdue on October 10, with Indiana on the books for October 31. None of those kickoff times or site locations are set in stone yet either, so there's plenty still to be finalized as the schedule firms up over the coming months.
For now, this is simply a date on the 2026 calendar worth circling — an 11 a.m. start against Akron in mid-September, right in the heart of a stretch that will set the tone for Minnesota's season before the Big Ten slate takes over. Kickoff times, TV designations, and site details for this one and several others on the schedule are still to come.