RECAP: Drake Lindsey's big day leads Gophers past Rutgers 31-28

The Scarlet Knights appeared to be well on their way to either tying the game or potentially taking the lead on their final drive. However, Athan Kaliakmanis was unable to handle a low snap and would take a 15-yard loss, forcing the Scarlet Knights out of field goal position. After picking up a handful of yards on 3rd and 25, Greg Schiano would opt to try a 56-yard field goal in hopes of tying the game.

Drake Lindsey continues to put together the best game of his early career as the redshirt freshman leads the Gophers 68 yards on six plays to take the lead. Lindsey completed six of seven passing attempts on the drive for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Javon Tracy scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Gophers using every last inch of his length to extend the ball past the goal line. Tracy has six receptions for 54 yards in the game.

Drake Lindsey is 31-for-41, 324, and has three touchdowns.

Rutgers retakes the lead as they drive 75 yards on nine plays, with Antwand Raymond scoring his second touchdown of the day on a four-yard run. Raymond has 152 rushing yards on 22 carries today, an average of 6.9 yards per carry.

Minnesota dominated the third quarter, outscoring Rutgers 10-0 to take a 24-21 lead. Gophers totaled 150 yards of total offense on the drive, including 120 passing yards on 15-of-19 passing from Drake Lindsey, who also had one passing touchdown. Minnesota had the ball for 12:38 of the 15 minutes.

Minnesota’s offense put together another fantastic scoring drive, taking seven minutes off the clock to go 75 yards across 14 plays. They would work their way deep into Rutgers territory, moving the ball all the way to the Scarlet Knights’ 8-yard line, but were unable to find the endzone.

Brady Denaburg nailed a 26-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 24-21 lead.

S Koi Perich: 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
LB Devon Williams: 7 tackles
CBZa’Quan Bryan: 6 tackles
DE Anthony Smith: 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1.5 sacks

Gophers have 5 sacks today and 8 TFLs.

The Golden Gophers offense put together their best drive of the day on their first drive of the second half, going 85 yards on 13 plays in 5:39 to tie the game at 21-21. The game was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown reception by Jalen Smith, who had to power his way through multiple defenders to get into the endzone.

Lindsey is now 17-for-24 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Smith has three receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown.

After Koi Perich returned a kickoff 53 yards to the Rutgers 32-yard line, giving the Gophers eight seconds to work with, P.J. Fleck chose to attempt a 50-yard field goal, which Brady Denaburg would push wide right.

Denaburg, who has been solid this season for the Gophers, has historically struggled on kicks beyond 50 yards. Before the miss, he was 0-for-4 in his career beyond 50 yards and 3-for-10 beyond 40 yards.

Notably, earlier in the quarter, the Gophers had to use a timeout because they only had 10 men on the field on defense. The wasted timeout came back to bite Minnesota.

Minnesota would find its way onto the Scarlet Knights’ side of the field on their sixth drive, but the drive would stall out after they were unable to convert on 3rd and 1 or fourth and 1. Gophers have just nine carries for 13 yards, averaging 1.4 yards per carry.

In a huge potential turn of momentum, Gophers safety Kerry Brown intercepted an Athan Kaliakmanis pass intended for KJ Duff, returning it to the Rutgers eight-yard line. One play later, Drake Lindsey threaded a perfect pass over two defenders to Le’Meke Brockington for a touchdown. The XP from Brady Denaburg was good, tying the game at 14-14.

The Golden Gophers offense struck quickly after the Scarlet Knights took a 14-0 lead, going 81 yards on just three plays.

The highlight of the drive was a 78-yard reception from Jalen Smith that put Minnesota in a prime scoring position. Fame Ijeboi would punch it in from two yards out to finish off the drive.

Drake Lindsey is off to a 4-for-5 start today for 100 yards.

The Gophers find themselves trailing by two scores early in the second quarter after the Scarlet Knights drove 68 yards on 12 plays before Athan Kaliakmanis connected with KJ Duff for a 14-yard touchdown.

Kaliakmanis is now 10-for-13 for 129 yards and two touchdowns. KJ Duff has up to three receptions for 53 yards and one touchdown. The Scarlet Knights’ offense has 191 yards on 29 plays, averaging 6.6 yards per play so far this game.

Gophers’ offense will need a score on their next drive, but has just 26 yards on two drives so far.

Former Minnesota starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is off to a great start in Saturday’s game, completing 9-of-9 passing attempts for 115 yards and one touchdown. DT Sheffield has three receptions for 39 yards, KJ Duff two receptions for 39 yards, and Ian Strong two receptions for 19 yards.

After failing to score on their first drive, the Scarlet Knights picked up where they left off on their second drive, swiftly moving down the field on eight plays, covering 62 yards. Athan Kaliamanis would find DT Sheffield for a 4-yard touchdown reception to put Rutgers up.

The Scarlet Knights were able to move the ball well on their first drive, going 71 yards on nine plays, but Devn Eastern blocks the Jai Patel field goal attempt, and the Gophers will take over at their own 12-yard line.

Minnesota Golden Gophers backup running back A.J. Turner‘s season is over.

The junior tailback who transferred into the program from Marshall this offseason will be out for the remainder of the season after suffering a leg injury against the California Golden Bears in week three.

Turner is one of eight Gophers out on Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, joining starting running back Darius Taylor, wide receiver Cristian Driver, wide receiver Bradley Martino, offensive lineman Daniel Shipp, defensive tackle Theorin Randle, safety Garrison Monroe, and kicker Sam Henson.

Only one Gopher is questionable for the week five matchup, that being true freshman cornerback Naiim Parrish.

Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
Odds: Minnesota is a 5.5-point favorite over Rutgers with the total currently set at 51.5 points according to BetMGM.