MINNEAPOLIS - Luke Drzewiecki’s biggest kick of the year was enough to earn him another piece of hardware.
Minnesota’s fifth-year kicker was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after going 2-for-2 on field goals in the Gophers’ 13-10 win over No. 15 Iowa on Saturday. His first field goal came from 31 yards in the opening quarter, and he finished the job with a walk-off 46-yarder as time expired.
That last kick lifted Minnesota to the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the first time since 2023 and the second time in 12 years. It also gave Drzewiecki the first walk-off field goal of his collegiate career and the first by a Gopher since the 2023 season opener against Nebraska, when Dragan Kesich drilled a 47-yarder as the clock hit zero.
The finish capped a season that has been clean and consistent from start to finish. Drzewiecki has made 23 straight field goals dating to last season, the longest active streak in the nation, with the next closest at 19. He has converted all 12 of his tries this year, which ranks third nationally for most makes without a miss.
For Minnesota, the current run of 12 straight made field goals is tied for the fourth-longest in program history and sits four shy of the school record of 16 set by Dan Nystrom in 2002.
Drzewiecki has also been steady over a longer stretch, making a field goal in 16 straight games and two field goals in seven straight contests. This season, he is 6-of-6 from 40 yards or longer, including a career-best 51-yarder at Washington. He is also perfect on extra points, going 13-of-13 for a team-high 49 points.
The award is Drzewiecki’s second Big Ten honor of the season. He previously earned Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 28 after kicking a pair of field goals in Minnesota’s 27-24 win at Washington.
With two weekly awards this season, Drzewiecki is tied for the most in a single year in program history, joining kickers Kesich (2023) and Emmit Carpenter (2016) and punter Peter Mortell (2013). He is also tied for fourth-most career weekly honors.
In Other News...
Gophers Fans Will Love This Floyd Of Rosedale Celebration Moment
The Gophers got more than a hard-fought 13-10 win over Iowa on Saturday. They got Floyd of Rosedale back, and the postgame celebration matched the moment, with the trophy carried through a crowd of Minnesota fans before the team later made room for it in the trophy cases alongside the rest of the rivalry hardware. Luke Drzewieckis two field goals were enough to earn him Big Ten special teams player of the week, a fitting footnote for a game decided by the kind of details these Border Battle showdowns usually turn on.
One of the more memorable scenes from the celebration quickly made the rounds online, adding a family touch to a rivalry trophy that already means plenty in Minnesota. It was the kind of image that fit the mood around the program after the win, and the sort of thing that tends to linger long after the scoreboard is forgotten, even as the Gophers keep moving through a week that has them looking at Floyd a little differently again. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Beat Iowa With A Formula Hawkeyes Fans Know Too Well
Minnesotas win over No. 15 Iowa looked a lot like the kind of game Hawkeyes fans have spent years expecting to control. The Gophers leaned on defense, special teams and sheer toughness to take back the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, while Iowa never found the sort of offensive rhythm needed to turn field position and pressure into points.
The tone of the afternoon changed early with a blocked punt on Iowas opening possession, and Minnesota kept making the kind of gritty plays that tend to decide this rivalry. Iowa finished with four turnovers and few big plays to fall back on, while Luke Drzewieckis long field goal gave the Gophers a crucial cushion they would not surrender. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Suddenly Have A National Spotlight And Bigger Stakes Saturday
Minnesota heads into Saturday with a little more national attention than usual, as ESPNs College GameDay will set up on the Indiana campus for the Gophers matchup with No. 6 Indiana at Memorial Stadium. Its the kind of stage that brings extra eyes, extra noise and a reminder that a late-season Big Ten game can carry far beyond the usual conference stakes.
For P.J. Flecks group, it also adds a familiar wrinkle to an unfamiliar setting. This is the second time Minnesota has been part of College GameDay under Fleck, though this time the Gophers are the road team, and they arrive with some momentum after last weeks 13-10 win over Iowa. That victory gave Minnesota multiple rivalry trophies at once for the first time since 1978, and now the challenge is carrying that energy into one of the leagues biggest road environments. [Read more 🡒]