Three touchdown passes from Drake Lindsey was the headline, and it was enough to send Minnesota into Big Ten play with a comfortable win over Akron. But if the Gophers wanted a clean answer to their rushing problems, they did not get one for most of the afternoon. This was a victory, yes. It was also another reminder that Minnesota’s ground game is still a work in progress.
By halftime, the Gophers had built a 20-point lead, which is exactly the sort of margin that should allow a team to lean on the run and close out the night with authority. Instead, Minnesota managed only 13 rushing yards in the first half against an Akron front that PJ Fleck called one of the best MAC defensive fronts he has seen in the last ten years. That is a serious statement, and the numbers gave it some backing. Minnesota had just 26 rushing yards on 25 attempts across six consecutive quarters before the late breakout. That is not a typo. That is a problem.
Lindsey delivered when Minnesota needed answers
This is where Drake Lindsey mattered most. The passing game gave Minnesota control, and Lindsey’s three-touchdown performance was the clearest sign that the Gophers could win without waiting around for the run game to wake up. That matters because Minnesota finished last in the Big Ten in rushing last season, so every week that passes without a convincing answer on the ground becomes a bigger issue, not a smaller one.
And yet, there was at least some life late. Late in the third quarter, Minnesota committed to running the ball on 12 consecutive plays, and that stretch finally produced movement. The Gophers finished with 191 rushing yards late in the game, which sounds far healthier than the early stages of the night actually looked. The final total will soften the optics, but it does not erase the long spell of inefficiency before it.
That is the tension in this win. Minnesota beat Akron, led comfortably, and got a sharp passing outing from Drake Lindsey. It also spent far too much of the game searching for credible production on the ground. There was a late surge, and that should be acknowledged. But one burst of competence does not automatically mean the rushing issue has been solved.
So the verdict is mixed, even in a comfortable win. The Gophers did what they were supposed to do before Big Ten play. Drake Lindsey threw three touchdown passes and looked like the most reliable part of the offense. But unless Minnesota can turn that late rushing improvement into something more durable, this performance will be remembered less as proof of a fix and more as another glimpse of the same old question.
