There are kicks that simply finish a game, and there are kicks that announce a player has turned himself into the calmest man in the stadium. Luke Drzewiecki delivered the second kind on Saturday. With Minnesota and Iowa locked in a tight, nervy rivalry scrap, he stepped in and drilled a 46-yard field goal to hand Minnesota a 13-10 win and keep Floyd of Rosedale where it belongs.
That is the sort of moment special teams coaches dream about and opposing fans remember for a very long time. It was not just the distance that made it meaningful. It was the timing, the pressure and the fact that Drzewiecki has now run his field-goal season to 5-for-5. In a game that could have turned into a slog of missed chances, Minnesota found the one player willing to own the final snap.
From walk-on to game-winner
The story makes the kick even better. Drzewiecki spent four seasons at the University of New Mexico as a walk-on, then ran out of eligibility after last season and even got a look from the Baltimore Ravens at rookie camp. Later, he joined a lawsuit with 40 other athletes and was granted one more season of eligibility. That brought him to Minnesota in late August, and the move has already paid off in the biggest possible way.
He did not arrive blindly, either. Drzewiecki immediately understood what Minnesota’s rivalry trophies mean, and he knew exactly what was at stake with Floyd of Rosedale and the Little Brown Jug hanging over the program. That matters. So does the fact that Daniel De Prato, his former special teams coordinator, is now in his first season at Minnesota. De Prato knew what he was getting, and his line about Drzewiecki being the same player in spring 2025 as he was against Iowa tells you this was not some last-minute miracle. It was trusted execution under pressure.
Minnesota’s special teams have become a real weapon
Drzewiecki’s winner did not come out of nowhere in a vacuum. Minnesota’s special teams have taken a clear step forward this season, with Javon Tracy returning two punts for touchdowns. That is how you build a dangerous unit: not with one isolated highlight, but with repeated signs that the entire phase of the game is becoming a problem for opponents.
For Drzewiecki, the night was brutally simple in the best way. As he put it, all you have to do is kick the football. Easy to say. Much harder to do when the whole stadium knows your foot is about to decide a rivalry game. Drake Lindsey was already talking about the moment before it happened, joking that he knew Drzewiecki was going to make a game-winner. That sort of confidence only exists when a locker room believes the kicker has earned it.
And that is the real takeaway here. Minnesota did not just beat Iowa. It won with poise, with trust and with a kicker who arrived in late August and immediately became one of the most important players on the roster. In a game built on tension, Luke Drzewiecki was the calmest figure on the field.
