After taking last weekend off, Notre Dame will return to action for two games Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 against Minnesota. The Irish (12-11-5, 7-7-4-3) have something of a tall order ahead as the Golden Gophers (13-11-4, 8-6-4-3) are winners of five of their past six games. To be fair, the one loss during that span came last weekend against Michigan State. Meanwhile, the Irish come into the weekend on a three-game unbeaten streak with their previous two games being a win and shootout win against Penn State.
This weekend series comes during what could be a crucial weekend for the Big Ten. There aren’t many more chances to make up ground with only three regular-season weekends remaining. The Irish are three points off a three-way tie for second that consists of Michigan State, Ohio State and these Gophers. Those teams trail first-place Penn State by two points.
Notre Dame and Minnesota first met during the 1924-25 season, and the Irish trail the all-time series, 21-30-4.