The Minnesota Gophers head into one of their toughest tests of the season Saturday, riding the momentum of an emotional rivalry win and walking straight into the spotlight at No. 4 Indiana.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, and the game will air on CBS. It will also be available to stream on Paramount+.
Minnesota comes in at 5-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play after last week’s 13-10 win over then No. 15 Iowa.
Luke Drzewiecki delivered the finish, drilling a 47-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Hawkeyes and claim the Floyd of Rosedale trophy. After the final kick, fans rushed the field to celebrate with the team.
That win gave Minnesota a rare hold on three trophies at once. The Gophers now have the Little Brown Jug, Floyd of Rosedale and Paul Bunyan's Axe simultaneously for the first time since 1978.
Indiana brings plenty of pressure of its own into the matchup. The Hoosiers are 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play after needing overtime to edge Michigan 13-6 last Saturday. Two weeks earlier, they came tantalizingly close to knocking off Ohio State, but a receiver could not get a foot down in the end zone on a fourth-down play, and the Buckeyes escaped.
The setting only adds to the stage. ESPN’s College Gameday will be in Bloomington for its weekly pregame show, with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee on the desk.
This is the kind of showcase College Gameday reserves for a game with real weight, and Indiana’s remaining regular season path after Minnesota includes hosting USC, going to Washington and hosting Purdue.
Minnesota has been in that spotlight before. The Gophers last appeared on College Gameday when they hosted Wisconsin to close the 2019 regular season.
Needing a win to capture the Big Ten West and reach the Big Ten title game, they fell 38-17 to the Badgers. They later beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl and finished 11-2, their best season in 115 years.
Before Saturday’s kickoff, FOX 9 will also air the Gopher Pregame Show from the sidelines at Memorial Stadium with Pierre Noujaim, Ron Johnson and Justin Gaard. The crew will preview the game, discuss Big Ten football and other matchups around the country, and feature a sitdown interview with a current Gophers player.
In Other News...
Minnesota Faces An Indiana Test With One Huge Offensive Unknown
Indianas recent stretch has offered Minnesota a clearer look at what the Hoosiers want to be under this staff: physical, transfer-driven and built around a defense that has carried more than its share of the load. Zach Osterman, who covers Indiana, pointed to the programs preference for proven additions and to a unit that has given opponents very little room to breathe, especially up front. For the Gophers, that means the matchup is less about flash and more about whether they can avoid getting dragged into a game dictated by Indianas defense and its tempo of control.
The offensive unknown sits at quarterback, where Josh Hoovers status has been a lingering question as the week has gone on. Indiana has had reason to feel better about the position than it did earlier in the process, and it also has a backup in Grant Wilson it trusts if the situation calls for it. Even so, the bigger issue for the Hoosiers may be more basic than the name under center: their offense has to show more, particularly on the ground, if it wants to match the standard their defense is setting. [Read more 🡒]
P.J. Fleck Just Fueled Minnesotas Biggest Offensive Debate
The offensive frustration that has shadowed Minnesota for stretches of the last few seasons was back in plain view against Iowa, when the Gophers struggled to sustain anything consistent and the game turned into another reminder of how much the margin for error shrinks when the defense and special teams are carrying the load. Minnesotas offense has landed near the bottom nationally and in the Big Ten, and with the next stretch of games looming, the lack of rhythm is starting to feel less like a bad night and more like a lingering issue.
P.J. Flecks support for Greg Harbaugh Jr. only adds another layer to the conversation, because the head coach is clearly not looking to make this a public referendum on his offensive coordinator. But with the results continuing to lag and the unit still searching for answers, the bigger question around the program is no longer whether the offense has room to improve. It is whether there is enough time left in the season for that improvement to show up before the schedule asks Minnesota to answer for it again. [Read more 🡒]
Maverick Baranowski Is Giving Minnesota A Defender Fans Can Rally Around
Maverick Baranowski has become the kind of defender Minnesota fans can latch onto this fall, and the fifth-year senior linebackers production is matching the visibility that comes with it. He leads the Gophers in tackles this season and has already picked up recognition along the way, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, a sign that his work has been hard to ignore beyond just the Minnesota sideline.
Baranowskis rise also has him in the thick of one of college footballs more respected individual races, adding another layer to what has already been a strong season. For Minnesota, the bigger picture is simple enough: a veteran linebacker is setting the tone for the defense, earning weekly attention and giving the program a steady presence at a position where reliability matters most, even as the next round of award movement waits later this month. [Read more 🡒]