'Put the ball in 5's hands': Gophers' trust in Drake Lindsey pays off

At halftime of Saturday's game against Rutgers, the Gophers' coaching staff made a decision. They were going to win or lose this game by riding the right arm of quarterback Drake Lindsey.

After falling into an early 14-0 hole, the Gophers trailed by seven at the half. Lindsey had gotten off to a strong start, throwing for 122 yards and a touchdown (78 of those yards came on one deep ball to fellow redshirt freshman Jalen Smith).

At that point, the Gophers had run the ball nine times compared to 13 pass attempts for Lindsey. They'd been stuffed on handoffs in short yardage situations a couple times to end drives. With star running back Darius Taylor out for the second straight game, P.J. Fleck and his staff eventually decided it was time to go all in on Lindsey and the passing attack.

That decision paid off quite nicely in a thrilling 31-28 Minnesota victory. Lindsey attempted 28 passes in the second half and handed the ball off just six times, all of which came in the third quarter. He completed 23 of those passes for 202 yards and two more touchdowns, including the game-winner to Javon Tracy in the fourth quarter.

"We just said we're putting it on your shoulders, big boy," Fleck said. "The faster I can get to saying that, the better we're gonna be. That's Drake. I went to his high school state championship, he put the entire team on his back. And there weren't a bunch of five-star people on his team. There weren't a bunch of people going to Division I schools on his team. It was him. And he elevated everybody's game. That was our decision at halftime, put the ball in 5's hands and let 5 go win the game."

Lindsey's final line was 31 of 41 for 324 yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers. He was poised, he got the ball out quickly, and he made good decisions all game long. His accuracy was excellent. He didn't look like a quarterback making his fourth collegiate start and first against a Big Ten opponent.

"I'm gonna tell you all again he's a redshirt freshman," Fleck said.

🚣 31-41 CMP
🚣 324 Pass YDS
🚣 3 TD

Drake Lindsey's 324 passing yards in the win over Rutgers are the most by a @GopherFootball freshman since Adam Weber had 352 vs Wisconsin on 11/17/2007 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dl87bjJYxv
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 27, 2025

Falling down 14-0 early in the second quarter created some adversity for the Gophers. Lindsey didn't flinch. He gave his team a spark with the deep ball to Smith and just kept firing throughout the game.

"I just try to stay super calm for the guys around me," Lindsey said in a postgame interview with BTN. "Everyone's gonna look to me in the tough times, the ups and downs. We were down 14-0 and you just gotta stay composed."

"He's an absolute warrior, an absolute stud," Fleck said. "I'm proud of this kid."

The Gophers' plan will be slightly different when they have Taylor available. But even when their No. 1 running back returns to action, the focus has to remain on Lindsey. Minnesota's best chance to have success as a program moving forward centers around letting their young quarterback carry them. With his raw talent and leadership traits, the ceiling is sky high.

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