5 things we learned from Minnesota's historic blowout over Northwestern State

The Gophers flat-out embarrassed Northwestern State in Week 2, but there was still plenty to learn about Minnesota.

Max Shikenjanski is QB2

When Minnesota added Zach Pyron from the transfer portal in the winter, it seemed like he would be the favorite to back up Drake Lindsey at QB. He slipped down the depth chart and left for the portal, and the Gophers added Old Dominion transfer Emmett Morehead in the spring. Former walk-on redshirt sophomore Max Shikenjanski has seemingly beat out Morehead, Dylan Wittke and four-star freshman Jackson Kollock for the backup QB role.

Shikenjanski was a two-sport star at Stillwater High School, who likely had more Division I opportunities for basketball, but he opted to walk on to Minnesota. It has paid off for him so far. Morehead began the season as the only quarterback with starting experience, and he wasn't even the third signal caller off the bench.

Three-headed monster at RB2

Darius Taylor left early in Saturday's game with an apparent leg injury. Minnesota leaned on Marshall transfer A.J. Turner, Washington transfer Cameron Davis and redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi for the rest of the first half. All three players had more than 30 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown.

If Taylor misses an extended period of time, it will likely be a running back by committee approach for Minnesota with all three players.

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John Nestor was a great portal find

Nestor started things with a bang after he took a pick-six to the house on the first play of the game. The Iowa transfer finished with two interceptions on the day. When he committed to Minnesota, he played roughly 150 snaps in his college career, and it seems like a depth addition for the Gophers. He looks like an above-average Big Ten cornerback through two weeks.

Minnesota got its money's worth

Power conference programs blowing out teams from the FCS level is not a new phenomenon, but Minnesota hasn't had the best history of doing so. The Gophers reportedly paid Northwestern State $500,000 to play in Saturday's game. A game with a smaller school from Louisiana doesn't make much sense on paper, but the Gophers got a good look at some of their underclassmen in Week 2.

Drake Lindsey can throw the deep ball

It's hard to make too many assumptions from less than one half of play, but Lindsey's lone 45-yard touchdown pass to Javon Tracy was a thing of beauty. He now has two touchdowns of more than 40 yards through only two collegiate games. He can throw the deep ball at a high level, and Minnesota seems willing to let him sling it.