The Gophers didn’t just find a kicker this fall. They found the kind of leg that can turn a frantic late-night recruiting scramble into a walk-off win.
Luke Drzewiecki, brought in after a whirlwind chase in late August, drilled a 46-yard field goal as time expired Saturday to lift Minnesota past Iowa 13-10 at Huntington Bank Stadium. The kick sailed through the open end of the stadium, and Kirk Ferentz said it would have been good from 55 yards.
“That was no easy field goal, either,” the Iowa coach said. “That breeze was a little bit significant there.
We were hoping to keep it out a little further there, but still wasn’t a chip shot for him. Credit to the kicker.
He’s missed one now in two years. He’s pretty good.”
Drzewiecki’s arrival in Minneapolis came together in unusual fashion. After the Gophers finished a long day of preseason camp in late August, P.J.
Fleck, new special teams coach Daniel Da Prato and others got on a FaceTime call after midnight with the New Mexico kicker, who had suddenly become available in the wake of a Louisiana court case against the NCAA. The ruling opened the door for Drzewiecki and more than 40 other players to receive a fifth year of eligibility this season, setting off a race for his signature.
Minnesota was in the mix, and Da Prato’s prior connection with Drzewiecki from their time together in Albuquerque mattered. Fleck remembered the urgency of that recruiting push.
“I’m sitting there, like, boy, times have changed because we are recruiting a kid versus three other schools right now and this kid’s going to be here tomorrow - if we get him,” Fleck recalled Saturday. “We’ve got to get this kid.”
The Gophers got him, and they’ve gotten exactly what they hoped for. Through six games, Drzewiecki is a perfect 12 for 12 on field goals, with six makes from 40 yards and beyond. He also put Minnesota ahead 3-0 with a 31-yarder in the first quarter against Iowa.
“Honestly, I was more nervous for the first kick of the game,” Drzewiecki said postgame. “It becomes a very simple game when all I’m focused on (is holder) Tom (Weston), and I have the belief in (long snapper) Alan (Soukup) and Tom to get the ball where all I’ve got to do is kick it. Very simple job.”
That steadiness has been a sharp contrast to last season, when Brady Denaburg made just 67% of his field goal attempts for Minnesota, including 2 of 7 from beyond 40 yards. Some of those misses came back to haunt the Gophers in games they lost.
Minnesota entered this season with a competition between sophomore Daniel Jackson and Beckham Sunderland, a senior transfer from Michigan. Neither had kicked a college field goal. The Gophers also tried to bring back Denaburg for a fifth year, but his eligibility case was unsuccessful.
Drzewiecki’s own eligibility was confirmed by a judge’s injunction against the NCAA in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, La. That decision came about an hour after Minnesota’s season opener against Eastern Illinois began on Sept. 3.
His path to the Gophers had already included an un-signed minicamp stint with the Baltimore Ravens last spring, which did not violate the Big Ten’s new rule barring pro players from returning to college.
Once he got to campus, Drzewiecki quickly built a reputation for being unshaken. In his first week in Dinkytown, he volunteered to introduce himself in a full team meeting - a move that can rattle plenty of newcomers.
“This dude’s got ice in his veins,” Fleck said about that moment during the KFXN-FM postgame show Saturday.
The kick that beat Iowa also came with a little extra confidence from inside the locker room. On Friday, Drake Lindsey was sitting alone in the Larson Football Performance Center, eating and watching highlights, when Drzewiecki came over and they started talking. Lindsey made a prediction.
“We started talking, just life,” Lindsey recalled. “And then I just looked at him and was like: ‘You’re going to make a game-winner.’ ”
Drzewiecki’s response: “He’s prophetic, honestly.”
Asked whether the Iowa winner was the biggest kick of his career, considering the rivalry and Minnesota’s first home win over Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale since 2014, Drzewiecki didn’t bite.
“Next one. The next one is.”
That next one comes Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., against reigning defending national champion and sixth-ranked Indiana.
In Other News...
Minnesota Just Pulled Off A Rivalry Feat Fans Rarely Get To Celebrate
Minnesotas 13-10 win over Iowa at home was the kind of rivalry result that lingers well beyond one Saturday in the standings. The Gophers leaned on defense and special teams throughout, getting a blocked punt and enough timely stops to keep the game tight, then making just enough plays on offense to stay in position for the finish.
Luke Drzewiecki delivered the decisive kick after Drake Lindsey connected with Jalen Smith on a 39-yard pass in the final minute, a sequence that turned a tense matchup into a celebration for the home side. For Minnesota, the payoff went beyond beating Iowa, because this was the kind of trophy season fans rarely get to enjoy all at once. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Just Turned This Indiana Trip Into A Huge Test
Minnesotas win over No. 15 Iowa did more than tighten up its Big Ten position. It also turned the upcoming trip to Indiana into a much bigger spotlight game, with the Gophers sitting at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play and suddenly carrying real momentum into late October. Minnesota still owns the all-time series against Indiana and has won the last four meetings, which only adds to the sense that this is a game the Gophers should be able to handle if they want to keep climbing.
The wrinkle is the stage itself. Bloomington will host ESPNs College GameDay for the Halloween matchup, giving Minnesota a national backdrop in a setting where every mistake, adjustment and big play will be amplified. For a program trying to build on a statement win over Iowa, it is exactly the kind of measuring-stick environment that can either reinforce the good vibes or expose how far there is still to go. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Just Took Back Floyd In A Win Fans Will Remember
The Gophers finally gave their home crowd something to celebrate in one of the sports most familiar border wars, beating No. 15 Iowa 13-10 at Huntington Bank Stadium and reclaiming Floyd of Rosedale. Minnesota had been stuck in a five-game home losing streak in the rivalry, so this one carried the kind of weight that goes beyond one Saturday in October and lands somewhere in the programs memory bank.
What made it even sweeter was the way it unfolded, with the game hanging in the balance until the final play. The win also adds another trophy to Minnesotas collection, a reminder that this season has already given the Gophers a rare place in the rivalry landscape even before the full story of the year is written. [Read more 🡒]