8 things that stood out from Minnesota's dramatic win over Rutgers

The Gophers rallied from an early 14-0 deficit and pulled out a 31-28 win over Rutgers on Saturday in a game that wasn't decided until the final 20 seconds. Here are eight things that stood out.

Drake Lindsey is a stud

If it wasn't already clear, P.J. Fleck and the Gophers have found themselves a quarterback. Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey played the best game of his young career in his first Big Ten start. He completed 31 of 41 passes for 324 yards with 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. Lindsey was decisive and accurate all day long, and he consistently delivered on third down when his team needed it.

The run-pass split for the Gophers' offense was very notable. Without star tailback Darius Taylor and backup A.J. Turner, Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. leaned into Lindsey's arm as Minnesota's best path to winning the game. Lindsey had 41 attempts and the Gophers handed the ball off a total of 15 times. It's one of the main reasons they emerged victorious.

Trailing 14-0, Lindsey gave the Gophers a jolt with a 78-yard strike to Jalen Smith in the second quarter. It was a perfectly-placed deep ball that set up a short touchdown run. Lindsey made a couple other quality throws in the first half, including a touchdown pass to Le'Meke Brockington, but it was in the second half when he put the team on his back.

After halftime, Lindsey went 23 of 28 for 202 yards and two of his three touchdown passes. He was surgical on a 15-play, 75-yard drive to open the third, which saw the Gophers tie it at 21. That drive featured 11 Lindsey pass attempts, just two runs, and six first downs (the Gophers had five in the entire first half). He then continued to deal on a 13-play, 85-yard drive later in the quarter, resulting in a short go-ahead field goal.

And after Rutgers regained the lead at 28-24, Lindsey led one more big-time drive in the fourth quarter, capping it with the game-winning touchdown pass to Javon Tracy.

THE EXTENTION! 🤯 @javon_tracy

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— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) September 27, 2025

Lindsey connected with nine different receivers on the day, seven of whom caught at least three passes. Smith led the way in the yardage department with four catches for 103 yards and a score.

After slow start, defense comes alive

The Gophers' defense got off to a very slow start to this one. Athan Kaliakmanis marched the Scarlet Knights down the field three straight times to begin the game, and it looked far too easy for the Rutgers offense. The first drive didn't result in points due to a blocked field goal, but the next two possessions turned into touchdowns.

After that second TD, yards were 191-26 Rutgers and first downs were 13-1. The defensive line wasn't getting much push and Minnesota's cornerbacks were getting roasted. It looked like this game had a chance to be a blowout. But the Gophers' defense came to life after that point.

Kaliakmanis completed his first nine passes and started 10 of 13 for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He held his ear up to the Minnesota student section after the second TD pass. The rest of the way, he was 11 of 21 for 120 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception.

Kerry Brown's pick in the second quarter set up the Gophers' second touchdown that tied the score at 14. Minnesota also finished the game with seven sacks, including 1.5 from Anthony Smith. Koi Perich had 11 tackles and trucked Kaliakmanis on a sack in the second quarter. One possession later, a Maverick Baranowski sack killed another Rutgers drive. In the third quarter, the Gophers' defense ended a drive with consecutive sacks.

It was a poor start, but the defense woke up and came to play for most of the final three quarters.

Run defense was an issue

If there was a big issue throughout the day for the Gophers' defense, it was stopping the run. Rutgers tailback Antwan Raymond racked up 161 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in a huge performance.

Three times, Raymond ran for a first down on 3rd and 8 or longer. That included a 20-yard gain on 3rd and 15 that set up Rutgers' go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. He also ran for a first down on 3rd and 6 in the final two minutes. The Gophers need to be better against the run and not be susceptible to big gains on the ground in passing situations.

Ijeboi leads backfield

With Taylor and Turner out, redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi and seventh-year grad transfer Cam Davis were the top two options at running back for the Gophers. But most of the work went to Ijeboi, especially as the game went along. He finished with 13 touches for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Davis had just six touches for 26 yards. The box score numbers don't jump out on a day where the Gophers were very pass-heavy, but Ijeboi continues to impress as a young back who runs hard.

Fame Ijeboi punches in to get @GopherFootball on the board 👊

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— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 27, 2025

A young corner emerges

Another redshirt freshman that stood out was cornerback Mike Gerald, who had four tackles and came up with a pair of pass breakups in the fourth quarter. He nearly had an interception early in the fourth. Later in the quarter, he made a huge play on third down, forcing a Rutgers punt. The Gophers' ensuing possession resulted in their game-winning touchdown.

Short-yardage offense needs work

One of the issues the Gophers had on offense in the first half was with execution in short-yardage situations. Down 7-0 in the first quarter, the Gophers faced a 3rd and 1 and tried to run the ball to move the chains. But right guard Marcellus Marshall completely whiffed on his block, resulting in a three-yard loss and a punt.

Then, in the second quarter, the game was tied 14-14 and the Gophers were in Rutgers territory looking for more. On 4th and 1, the handoff went to Davis, who had nowhere to go and was marked short (on perhaps an iffy spot) for a turnover on downs. Rutgers scored on the next possession to go up 21-14.

Lack of timeouts leads to long field goal miss before half

The Gophers had a chance to cut the Rutgers lead to 21-17 at half after a long kick return by Perich. But with eight seconds left and the ball at the RU 32, Fleck elected not to try one quick play to make it a shorter field goal attempt. Why? Because he was out of timeouts. Fleck had already used all three in the half, with the final one coming when the Gophers only had 10 players on the field on defense.

Brady Denaburg's 50-yard field goal missed by quite a bit. Ideally, you'd like to have had a timeout available there to be able to run one extra offensive play.

Early red zone stop and field goal block

The Gophers' defense came up with a huge stop in the low red zone to begin this game. Kaliakmanis and Rutgers quickly marched down the field with a couple big passes and some chunks on the ground. But Perich saved a touchdown with a booming hit on Raymond. And with first and goal at the 3, the Scarlet Knights called three runs that combined to lose a yard.

It looked like that defensive stand saved four points for the Gophers. Instead, it saved seven. Rutgers' 22-yard field goal attempt didn't get much elevation and was blocked by defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence.

BLOCKED! @GopherFootball

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— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 27, 2025

That play may have kept a bad start from being even worse.