The Gophers needed a clean afternoon after a 25-point loss to Mississippi State, and they got one. Minnesota hosted Akron in an 11 a.m. kickoff on September 19 and won 41-7. It was the last nonconference game on the schedule and moved the Gophers to 2-1.
Drake Lindsey went 17-for-31 for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns. He started fast, finding freshman Roman Voss of Jackson County Central for a 14-yard score on the opening drive to make it 7-0.
The program's social team had its favorite play picked out right away: Lindsey's throw to Noah Jennings. It was a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter on a short post, and the ball got just past a defender's fingertips. That's the kind of tight-window throw Minnesota will need against Big Ten secondaries.
Jennings and Javon Tracy combined for 10 catches and 163 receiving yards. Jennings is up to 15 catches for 217 yards and 1 touchdown through 3 games, which makes him one of Lindsey's go-to targets early in the season. Fleck was even more excited about Tracy. "He's an ultimate playmaker. He's a very excitable player," Fleck said.
The game plan leaned on the passing game. Minnesota ran the ball just 9 times in the first half while Lindsey threw 23 passes. The ground game took over late: the Gophers finished with 191 rushing yards, and 154 of them came in the fourth quarter. TJ Thomas had the longest run of the day, a 71-yard touchdown.
The defense was just as sharp. Minnesota had 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, a forced fumble and 8 pass breakups. Linebacker Joey Gerlach made 8 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered one. Akron didn't score until a 10-yard Marcellus Williams touchdown run in the fourth quarter, with the game long decided.
"I think when everyone's doing their job, and all of it is executing at a high level, any play is going to work," Lindsey said. Fleck said the Gophers will need more of the same: "We're going to have to play that way all year for this team to go where we want to go."
That was the final tuneup. Next on the schedule was the Big Ten opener against Washington.
