Lindsey, Tracy headline Gophers' 59-7 season-opening rout
Drake Lindsey threw for 264 yards and Javon Tracy set a Big Ten punt-return record as Minnesota opened the season with a 59-7 win over Eastern Illinois.
Lindsey backs up Fleck's praise with a near-perfect debut
P.J. Fleck spent camp raving about his quarterback more than anything else in front of him, saying Drake Lindsey "understands the transparency of what he has to do to grow and get better" and pointing to one rep in particular where Lindsey "looked like a pro going through his progressions," per the Star Tribune. Thursday night he cashed it in: Lindsey finished 19 of 24 for 264 yards and a touchdown before getting pulled with the game well in hand, per ESPN, as Minnesota opened the season with a 59-7 win over Eastern Illinois at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Eastern Illinois59-7This wasn't a quarterback competition to begin with — On3 had Lindsey locked in as the starter for 2026 after an 8-5 redshirt-freshman season, with Fleck now 6-3 on opening night in his tenure — but the battle for QB2 is still very much alive behind him. Stillwater native Max Shikenjanski got his chance late Thursday and made the most of it, marching Minnesota 52 yards in seven plays and running it in himself to make it 52-7, one more data point in a snap-two derby that 247Sports says also includes Liberty transfer Max Merdinger and freshman Brady Palmer.
Tracy becomes the first Big Ten player since 2013 to return two punts for touchdowns in one game
Javon Tracy turned a laugher into a program moment. His second punt-return touchdown of the night made it 42-7 and made him the first Gopher — and the first Big Ten player since Penn State's Daequan Hardy in 2023 — to house two punt returns in a single game, per ESPN. It was also Minnesota's first punt return for a score since 2018.
JAVON TRACY HOUSES HIS SECOND PUNT RETURN FOR A TOUCHDOWN! 🤯 It's 42-7, #Gophers!
Tracy did it while barely breaking a sweat as a receiver, too: he finished the first half alone with 193 all-purpose yards, part of a combined 280 yards and 4 touchdowns he and Darius Taylor produced before the break, according to the team's own account. Add in a 55-yard catch-and-run down to the Eastern Illinois 2-yard line, and it was the kind of night that turns a transfer receiver into a fixture on the highlight reel.
The kicking battle isn't over — D.R. Jackson banked the first field goal, not the offseason arrival
Minnesota spent the offseason going out and signing Luke Drzewiecki, the New Mexico kicker who lined up against the Gophers — not for them — in last season's 20-17 bowl win, an all-conference leg out of the Mountain West that On3's Pete Nakos reported signing on August 21. Fleck had said the kicking job stayed open into the final scrimmage of camp, per the Star Tribune, which made Drzewiecki look like more than a depth move.
First career field goal for @d_r_jackson! The Alexandria, Minn., native makes it 45-7 with 3:17 to go in the third quarter! #RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers t.co/p70y2bqGpt
Thursday night, though, it was Alexandria, Minn., native D.R. Jackson who got the call and delivered, banking his first career field goal to push the lead to 45-7 with 3:17 left in the third quarter. One kick doesn't settle a battle Fleck said ran into the final scrimmage, but it's the first real data point in it, and it came from the hometown kid, not the marquee signing.
A winless Mississippi State team comes to Huntington Bank Stadium next
Minnesota's home schedule keeps rolling on September 12 vs. Mississippi State, though the Bulldogs arrive as close to a blank slate as a Power Four opponent can be. Jeff Lebby's team hasn't played a snap yet this season, with its own opener against Louisiana-Monroe set for September 5, and the only form on the board is last season's finish: a 29-43 loss to Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Minnesota opened as a 2.5-point favorite at home for that one, a number that reflects a team that just hung 59 on somebody more than it does anything Mississippi State has shown in 2026. Kickoff at Huntington Bank Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m.