Minnesota walked away from its win at Washington with a little extra hardware attached. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, while kicker Luke Drzewiecki picked up Special Teams Player of the Week after both played key roles in the Gophers’ 27-24 victory over the Huskies on Saturday night.
It was the first weekly conference honor of either player’s career, and Minnesota ended up taking half of the Big Ten’s weekly awards.
Baranowski did a little bit of everything on defense. He matched the team lead with seven tackles and added 2.0 tackles for loss, a season high.
He also posted 1.0 sacks, tying his personal best, and came up with his first career interception. That pick helped set up Minnesota’s first touchdown of the game.
The numbers keep piling up for Baranowski, too. Saturday was his 15th straight game with at least six tackles, and his interception was the first by a Gopher linebacker since Cody Lindenberg did it at UCLA in 2024.
On the season, Baranowski leads Minnesota with 28 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss. He also shares the team lead in interceptions with one and quarterback hurries with two, and he has 1.0 sacks.
Drzewiecki handled the kicking duties with precision. He hit both of his field goal tries, and those six points were all Minnesota got in the second half.
He also converted all three extra points. His first field goal came from 33 yards with under a minute left in the third quarter and stretched the Gophers’ lead to 24-10.
Later, he drilled a career-long 51-yarder in the fourth quarter, and that one ended up being the difference.
That 51-yard kick was the longest by a Gopher since Dragan Kesich connected from the same distance at Rutgers in 2024. Drzewiecki has now made 21 straight field goals dating back to his time at New Mexico. Saturday also marked his 13th consecutive game with a made field goal and his fourth straight with two or more.
A three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week at New Mexico, Drzewiecki is now 6-for-6 on field goals this season and 4-for-4 from 40 yards and beyond. He’s also perfect on nine extra points and leads the team with 27 points.
Baranowski is Minnesota’s first Defensive Player of the Week since John Nestor in the final week of the 2025 season, and the first Gopher linebacker to win the award since current position coach Mariano Sori-Marin on Dec. 14, 2020.
Drzewiecki is the second Minnesota player to take Special Teams Player of the Week in 2026, joining Javon Tracy, who won it after the opening week. The last Minnesota kicker to get the honor was Kesich on Nov.
4, 2024.
Minnesota last swept the Big Ten’s defensive and special teams weekly honors in the same week on Oct. 23, 2023, when Tyler Nubin and Kesich were the winners.
The Gophers are back home Saturday against Michigan at Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on FOX, following the first ever broadcast of Big Noon Kickoff from Minneapolis.
In Other News...
Minnesota Just Earned A Real Big Ten Chance To Climb
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Gophers Get A Rare Chance To Change This Michigan Rivalry
The Little Brown Jug is back on the line Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, and this one comes with a little extra weight for Minnesota. Michigan has controlled the rivalry for years, with the Gophers last win over the Wolverines coming in 2014 and their last home victory in the series all the way back in 1977, which is why hosting this game feels like more than just another Big Ten date on the schedule.
FOXs Big Noon Kickoff will be in Minneapolis for the occasion, giving the matchup a national stage as P.J. Flecks team tries to make the most of a rare chance to shift the tone of an old rivalry. Fleck had praise this week for linebacker Maverick Baranowski after Minnesotas win over Washington, and the Gophers would love for that momentum to carry into a game that has been waiting a long time for a different kind of ending in Minneapolis. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Have Fans Wondering If This Turnaround Is Finally Real
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The biggest sign of progress came on the road against a ranked Washington team, where Minnesota played with far more control and a defense that looked nothing like the unit that had struggled earlier. For a team that has spent the year alternating between frustration and promise, the question now is less about whether the Gophers can flash upside and more about whether this version can hold up long enough to make the turnaround feel real. [Read more 🡒]