Lindsay leads Minnesota past Rutgers 31-28 in Big Ten opener
Freshman Drake Lindsay threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns as Minnesota erased a 14-point deficit to beat Rutgers.
MINNEAPOLIS — Drake Lindsay threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns as Minnesota rallied to defeat Rutgers 31-28 on Saturday, using a short-passing plan to erase a 14-0 deficit. The Golden Gophers played without their top two running backs and managed just 35 rushing yards, but Lindsay completed 31 of 41 passes, including 23 of 28 in the second half, to control the clock and fuel the comeback.
Rutgers countered behind Athan Kaliakmanis, who spent three years in Minnesota before transferring to Rutgers and started for the Gophers in 2023. Kaliakmanis threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Antwan Raymond rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two scores for Rutgers (3-2, 0-2). The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, allowed seven sacks, missed two field goals and committed the game’s only turnover as they regressed in Big Ten play.
The turning point came late in the fourth quarter. Minnesota trailed 28-24 when it regained the ball with 6:24 to play. Lindsay went 6-for-7 for 72 yards on the ensuing drive and capped it with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Javon Tracy to reclaim the lead. Rutgers then moved to Minnesota’s 26, but a 15-yard miscue set them back and Dane Pizzaro’s game-tying try from 56 yards was wide right.
On the Scarlet Knights’ final possession, Kaliakmanis led a short march into field-goal range before a miscue on a shotgun snap doomed the attempt. The ball slipped between his legs and rolled to the Minnesota side, and Kaliakmanis said the play was a miscommunication. “Honestly, miscommunication. I’ve got to be better,” he said.
Antwan Raymond’s breakout came in support of Rutgers’ effort. In the run-heavy fourth, he surpassed the prior rushing mark for the game, finishing with a career-best 161 yards and two scores. Minnesota entered the game having allowed just 124 rushing yards on 70 attempts through its first three games; Raymond’s output underscored Rutgers’ reliance on the ground game as the Scarlet Knights tried to balance offense without a healthy backfield.
The takeaway: Minnesota avoided a disappointing home loss to begin its Big Ten slate and kept pace with a looming trip to No. 1 Ohio State next week. Rutgers, now 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference, heads to Washington on Oct. 10. The result kept Minnesota at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten.