Placekicking rarely gets the spotlight, but Saturday night in Bloomington turned it into the whole show.
Indiana’s 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota was already a tense Big Ten grinder, then the final minutes turned into a duel from 60 yards out. First came Minnesota’s Luke Drzewiecki, who had already won the Gophers a game on a last-second kick against Iowa the week before.
This time, with 19 seconds left and no Indiana timeout left to freeze him, he stepped in and drilled the longest field goal of his college career. It gave Minnesota a late lead and left Memorial Stadium stunned.
Drzewiecki, a New Mexico transfer who missed only one kick for the Lobos last season, had been perfect this year before that attempt. He had the range to go even farther, and he showed it in front of 54,400 fans.
Indiana still had life. Backup quarterback Grant Wilson pushed the Hoosiers down the field from their 25-yard line, hitting Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder throw for 33 yards to stop the clock. After an incompletion, Curt Cignetti made a bold call and went to kickoff specialist Paddy McAteer instead of Nico Radicic, who had already missed two kicks in the game.
McAteer’s path to that moment was unusual. The native of Mullaghbawn, Ireland, grew up playing Gaelic football and didn’t try American football until three years ago, when he was 20.
Much of his work for Indiana in 2026 had come on kickoffs, where he was booming touchbacks. But Cignetti trusted him from 60 yards, and McAteer delivered in just his third field-goal attempt of the season.
“My man Paddy … as soon as he hit you knew it was good,” Cignetti said after the game.
The kick sent the game to overtime and created a rare piece of history: Drzewiecki and McAteer became the first opposing kickers since 1941 to make a 60-yard field goal in the same game.
Indiana finished the job in overtime, scoring a touchdown on its first play and then ending the game with a sack on fourth-and-goal to keep Minnesota out of the end zone. The Hoosiers got the win, but the night belonged to the kickers.
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Indiana left with an 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota and an 8-1 record, but it was anything but clean. In a game that never really found a rhythm, Charlie Becker kept giving the Hoosiers answers when they needed them most, hauling in key catches and helping steady an offense that had to grind through a messy afternoon.
Becker, a junior who is already being talked about as a potential first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, made the kind of plays that can swing a season. His late catch helped Indiana stay alive, and his work in the extra session finished off a win that mattered even if it did not look pretty, especially with the Hoosiers navigating the game without their starter under center. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Let A Huge Big Ten Chance Slip Away At Indiana
Minnesota had a Big Ten road win in its grasp late Saturday, only to watch the game swing back toward No. 4 Indiana in the final moments and overtime. The Gophers had taken a late lead and were trying to close out a statement victory when Indiana found a way to extend the night, turning what looked like a major conference upset into a tense finish.
Grant Wilson ended it quickly once overtime began, connecting with Charlie Becker on a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play to lift Indiana to a 23-16 win. Wilson took over after halftime and gave the Hoosiers a steadier answer at quarterback, while Minnesota was left to wonder how a game that had tilted its way slipped back out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Let A Huge Upset Slip Away In Painful Fashion
Minnesota had the kind of afternoon that can linger with a team for a long time, the sort where a breakthrough win feels close enough to touch before it slips out of reach. The Gophers pushed Indiana to overtime and even grabbed the late edge in regulation, thanks to Luke Drzewiecki drilling a 60-yard field goal to put Minnesota in front. For a team trying to turn an upset bid into something bigger, it was the kind of kick that should have changed the mood entirely.
Instead, the finish turned cruel. Indiana answered in overtime when Grant Wilson found Charlie Becker for a touchdown, and Minnesota still had a final chance to salvage the moment. The Gophers could not cash it in, leaving them with a painful loss and plenty to replay from a game that had been there for the taking. [Read more 🡒]