Week Nine: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Date & Time: Saturday, October 31 at TBA
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: TBA
Golden Gophers at a Glance
Head Coach: PJ Fleck
Entering his 10th season as Minnesota’s head coach, Entering 14th Season overall
Record at Minnesota: 66-44
Overall Record: 96-66
Last Season: 8-5 (5-4 in Big Ten) with Minnesota (Won Rate Bowl)
Series History vs. Indiana
Record: 40-26
Last Meeting: Minnesota won 35-14 in 2021
Gophers Returning Leaders
Passing: Drake Lindsey (246-389, 2,382 yards, 18 TDs 6 INTs)
Rushing: Darius Taylor (143 rushes, 688 yards 4 TDs)
Receiving: Javon Tracy (37 catches, 454 yards 6 TDs)
Tackles: Maverick Baranowski (103 tackles, 9 TFLs, 3 Sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF)
Gophers Names to Know
Drake Lindsey, Quarterback
Darius Taylor, Running Back
Maverick Baranowski, Linebacker
Anthony Smith, Defensive Line
Gophers Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 11th in the Big Ten, Citrus Bowl Projection
Lindy’s: 10th in the Big Ten
Phil Steele: T-9th in the Big Ten
SP+: 45th Nationally
Impact Newcomers for the Gophers
Noah Jennings, Wide Receiver (Transfer from Cincinnati)
Ryan Estrada, Running Back (Freshman)
TJ Bush, Defensive End (Transfer from Cal)
Biggest Questions Facing the Gophers
1. Have the Gophers hit their ceiling under PJ Fleck?
2. Who is RB2 behind Darius Taylor?
3. Can first-year coordinator Daniel Da Prato fix Minnesota’s special teams?
Minnesota Program Preview
Minnesota under PJ Fleck is a team that seems to be perpetually stuck just on the outside looking in. Say what you will about Fleck and his “Row the Boat” mentality, but he has been consistent, the Gophers have hovered around the 8-win mark for the past five years. However, being just “a couple wins away” from a CFP berth season after season seems to be heating up Fleck’s seat in Dinkytown. Depending on how the 2026 season plays out, there may be some difficult conversations about whether the expectations for the Gophers is a solid season and a bowl win, or competing for a national championship.
2025 was a typical Minnesota season in many ways; the Gophers went 8-5, predictably losing to Ohio State, Oregon, and Iowa. The season also included a few head scratching losses, one on the road to Cal and one heartbreaking loss to Northwestern that sank their season.
The Gophers matched up against Jason Eck’s New Mexico Lobos in the Rate Bowl to end the season. In a back-and-forth game, Minnesota came out on top 20-17 in overtime, extending PJ Fleck’s bowl win streak to nine straight.
Offensive Preview
2024 marked a significant shift in the offensive philosophy of the Golden Gophers. For years, PJ Fleck’s teams had been anchored by a physical run-first style that highlighted their many star running backs. In 2024, the scheme shifted to a more pass-first air attack behind the arm of quarterback Max Brosmer. In 2025, freshman QB Drake Lindsey continued the success of this scheme, throwing for 2,382 yards and 18 touchdowns. These numbers were more impressive given the lack of a run game to prevent the defense from bringing the house every play.
The Gophers return their leading rusher from 2025 in Darius Taylor, who rushed for 688 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2025. While Taylor is the clear RB1 heading into the 2026 season, the Gophers are hoping to get some more production out of him in order to take some of the pressure off of Lindsey. Behind Taylor, the battle for RB2 gets interesting. The rest of Minnesota’s RB room consists of freshmen and inexperienced underclassmen. New RB Coach and Minnesota legend Mohamed Ibrahim will have his work cut out for him to whip this group into shape. One name to watch is Ryan Estrada. The freshman out of El Paso has a lot of promise, rushing for 7,633 yards and 95 touchdowns over the course of his prep career. With no experienced backup ahead of him, the four-star recruit could see some serious snaps his first season.
Another question mark for the Gophers in 2025 was the right side of the offensive line. Minnesota hopes they have found the answer to this problem in Tennessee transfer Bennett Warren who will likely slot into the right tackle spot. Combined with veterans Nathan Roy at left tackle, Greg Johnson at guard, and Ashton Beers at center, the line should be much stronger in 2026 than it was in 2025.
One of the main points of emphasis for the Gophers in the offseason was getting some weapons at wide receiver for Lindsey to throw to. Minnesota did just that with a pair of transfer wideouts in Perry Thompson Jr. and Noah Jennings. Thompson, a transfer from Auburn, is a big-bodied receiver who will provide a big target for Lindsey this coming season. Jennings, a transfer from Cincinnati, has already begun to show the chemistry with Lindsey as the two connected for a 74-yard touchdown during Minnesota’s spring game.
Defensive Preview
The biggest news of the offseason for the Minnesota defense was the departure of star safety Koi Perich. The mainstay of the Gophers’ secondary jumped ship for Oregon following the Rate Bowl last season. Luckily for the Gophers, Safety is one of their deepest positions, and while Perich’s departure may sting in the short term, the team will survive without him. In particular, Kerry Brown, who has quietly been a consistent performer for the Gophers will lead the safety room heading into 2026. Brown played over 600 snaps in 2025 and looks to repeat in 2026.
Moving onto the linebacking corps, Maverick Baranowski is the heartbeat of the Gopher defense. The fifth-year senior led the team in tackles last season with 103 (52 solo) and had three sacks and nine TFLs. Baranowski became the first Gopher since 2018 to record a 100 tackle season and is looking to repeat performance in 2026.
The real highlight of the Gophers 4-2-5 scheme is their defensive line. The line is anchored by defensive lineman Anthony Smith, who in all likelihood will be a first-round draft pick next season. The 6’6” 285 pound Smith tallied 12.5 sacks and 17.5 TFLs last season. With the emphasis on Smith, LSU transfer Jaxon Howard, Cal transfer TJ Bush, and veteran Karter Menz will have ample opportunities to feast in opposing backfields next season.
The Gophers did a good job constructing a talented defensive roster heading into 2026. The big question will be whether or not this roster will be able to get off of the field. For as talented as the 2025 Minnesota defense was, they struggled to get off the field at times, costing them in close games. The Gophers’ are hoping this will change in 2026.
Special Teams Preview
Perhaps the most frustrating part of Minnesota’s 2025 season was the sheer number of close games they played in. While they went 3-1 in these close games, it would have been 4-0 had it not been for the Gophers special teams. Minnesota missed both field goals it attempted and ended up losing by 3 to Northwestern. Newly hired special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato will have his work cut out for him in reshaping this group.
Da Prato has inherited an open placekicking job, which could be filled by either Michigan Transfer Beckham Sunderland or sophomore Daniel Jackson. Former Gopher kicker Brady Denaburg has also been practicing with the team thanks to newfound eligibility under the Colorado Injunction. If he’s eligible, Denaburg likely will be the kicker, however that remains to be seen. If Denaburg is not eligible I think Sunderland will win the battle just based on leg power alone.
The bright spot of the special teams unit is punter Tom Weston. The big Australian averaged 42.6 yards per punt on 65 punts last season and earned All-Big Ten Third Team Honors.
Similar to the kicking battle, the departure of Koi Perich has left a vacancy in the Kick Returner role. While this position is still very much up in the air, Elon transfer TJ Thomas appears to be the favorite. Thomas returned 16 kickoffs for 441 yards and two punts for 36 yards at Elon.
2026 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS
Week Six: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Week Seven: Ohio State Buckeyes
Week Eight: Michigan Wolverines
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