1921 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 1921
| team = Minnesota Golden Gophers
| sport = football
| image =
| image_size =
| conference = Big Ten Conference
| short_conf = Big Ten
| record = 3–4
| conf_record = 2–4
| head_coach = Henry L. Williams
| hc_year = 22nd
| captain = Larry Teberg
| stadium = Northrop Field
}}
{{1921 Big Ten Conference football standings}}
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.{{cite web|title=1921 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|access-date=November 1, 2017|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/minnesota/1921-schedule.html}}
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| timezone = Central
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 1
| time =
| w/l = w
| nonconf = y
| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1921|team=North Dakota Flickertails|title=North Dakota}}
| site_stadium = Northrop Field
| site_cityst = Minneapolis, MN
| score = 19–0
| attend = 8,000
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 8
| time =
| w/l = w
| opponent = Northwestern
| site_stadium = Northrop Field
| site_cityst = Minneapolis, MN
| score = 28–0
| attend = 15,000
| source = {{cite news|title=Purple Beaten by Strong Team of Gophers, 28-0|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|author=James Crusinberry|date=October 9, 1921|page=II-1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20995420/purple_beaten_by_strong_team_of/|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 15
| time =
| w/l = l
| away = y
| opponent = Ohio State
| site_stadium = Ohio Stadium
| site_cityst = Columbus, OH
| score = 0–27
| attend = 22,000
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 22
| time =
| w/l = w
| opponent = Indiana
| site_stadium = Northrop Field
| site_cityst = Minneapolis, MN
| score = 6–0
| attend = 20,000
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 29
| time =
| w/l = l
| away = y
| opponent = Wisconsin
| site_stadium = Camp Randall Stadium
| site_cityst = Madison, WI
| gamename = rivalry
| score = 0–35
| attend = 24,000
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 5
| time =
| w/l = l
| homecoming = y
| opponent = Iowa
| site_stadium = Northrop Field
| site_cityst = Minneapolis, MN
| gamename = rivalry
| score = 7–41
| attend = 23,000
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 19
| time = 1:00 p.m.
| w/l = l
| away = y
| opponent = Michigan
| site_stadium = Ferry Field
| site_cityst = Ann Arbor, MI
| gamename = Little Brown Jug
| score = 0–38
| attend = 30,000–33,000
}}
}}
Game summaries
=Michigan=
{{AFB game box start
| Title = Week 7: Minnesota at Michigan
| Visitor = Minnesota
| Host = Michigan
| V1 =0| V2 =0| V3 =0| V4 =0
| H1 =10| H2 =7| H3 =7| H4 =14
| Date = November 19, 1921
| Location = Ferry Field
Ann Arbor, MI
| StartTime = 2:00 p.m.
| ElapsedTime =
| Attendance = 30,000
| Weather =
| Referee = Hackett (West Point)
}}
{{AFB game box end}}
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,{{cite news|title=Attendance at the Football Games|newspaper=The Michigan Alumnus|date=December 8, 1921|page=276|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYQqAAAAYAAJ&q=football}} first in drizzling rain and then in cold weather.{{cite news|title=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|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|author=Harry Bullion|date=November 21, 1921|page=23|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/566783755|access-date=July 5, 2017|archive-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722021940/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/freep/doc/566783755.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+20%2C+1921&author=Bullion%2C+Harry&pub=Detroit+Free+Press+%281858-1922%29&edition=&startpage=&desc=U.+of+M.+Romps+Over+Gophers%2C+38-0--Iowa+Captures+Conference+Title|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|title=In Honor of Michigan's "M" Men Who Died During the War|newspaper=The Michigan Alumnus|date=November 24, 1921|page=200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYQqAAAAYAAJ&q=redden}}{{cite news|title=Sidelights of the Game|newspaper=The Michigan Alumnus|date=November 24, 1921|page=210|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYQqAAAAYAAJ&q=redden}}
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." 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." 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. 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.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}