Drake Lindsey admits Iowa game was the worst of his football career

Lindsey is ready to move on from the worst start of his young college career.

Oct 25, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) throws a pass against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Minnesota's redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey was not at his best on Saturday against Iowa. His 35.6 grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF) was his lowest of the season and only the third time he has been below 68.4.

He completed 16 of his 28 passes for 109 yards and three interceptions, and he was sacked a season-high four times. The first pick-six of his career put Minnesota in an early 17-0 hole in the first quarter.

Oct 25, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) throws a pass during warmups before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

"There's only one thing you can do after a game like that. It happens to everybody. It's the way you go after it, you know. Obviously, a lot of negative things happened in the game, and you have to use it as a learning tool," Lindsey said on Wednesday. "A lot of things I don't want to do again. A lot of things our team doesn't want to do again, so we gotta look at it in that aspect and just get better."

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Lindsey is only eight starts into his college career, but Minnesota's offense has surpassed 30 points against an FBS opponent only one time this season. They've only scored first one time against a power conference opponent, which was, oddly enough, against No. 1 Ohio State on the road.

Oct 4, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) greets Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) after the game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

"We obviously gotta start fast, especially after they go up 7-0. We gotta help our defense out and go get a touchdown for them," he continued. "Just execute one play at a time, and rely on our teammates. We didn't do a good enough job, and we just gotta get better from it."

Lindsey's 68.4 passer rating was a season low, and it was only the second time this season that he has been below 100. It was hard to pull many positives from his performance, but he's ready to move on.

"I've had some tough games in my life, but yeah, that was definitely the toughest. Their defense was super, super good, and I was letting it get to me; I didn't play my best, so I just gotta look at it in a mature way and learn from it. Because it happens to all quarterbacks that have played the game. There's going to be ups and downs at this position. So, you just gotta look at it and move on."

Lindsey and Minnesota's offense have a great opportunity to get back on track this week against a Michigan State defense that has allowed 32.5 points per game this season, which ranks dead last in the Big Ten.