The Minnesota Gophers football team has accepted a bid to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston, according to the event’s official website.
The Gophers will face the Big 12’s Texas Tech, who finished with a 7-5 record (4-5 in the conference).
Minnesota, in its second year under coach Jerry Kill, finished with a 6-6 record in 2012. In non-conference play, Minnesota was 4-0, but was 2-6 among Big 10 opponents.
According to the Pioneer Press, U of M athletics director Norwood Teague put in a fierce lobbying effort to land the game. Purdue (also 6-6) was the other Big 10 team in the running.
“We are thrilled to be heading to Houston,” Kill said on gophersports.com. “We have 13 players from Texas and I know they will be excited to play in their home state.”
The last time these teams met was in the 2006 Insight Bowl, which Minnesota lost 44-41 in overtime.
The game is scheduled for Dec. 28, to be aired on ESPN at 8 p.m. Central.
