University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Huntington Bank Stadium
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Akron
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Game 3 Preview: Minnesota vs. Akron
9/16/2026 9:14:00 AM | Football
THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time: Sept. 19, 2026 / 11 a.m.
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: First Meeting
Series vs. MAC: Minnesota leads 34-4-1
Streak vs. MAC: Minnesota won 3
First Meeting vs. MAC: Minnesota tied Ohio, 35-35, in Minneapolis (9/27/1969)
Last Meeting vs. MAC: Minnesota won, 23-10, vs. Buffalo in Minneapolis (8/28/2025)
Television: BTN // Joe Beninati (PXP), Tanner Morgan (Analyst), Anna Connelly (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 177, 231, 955; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (1-1) closes out its non-conference schedule Saturday as it hosts Akron (1-1) at Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network and the Gopher Radio Network. It'll be the first ever matchup between the Golden Gophers and Zips.
2. Coupled with last week's first ever meeting with Mississippi State, this season mark the first time since 2023 (Eastern Michigan and North Carolina) that the Gophers take on two new FBS opponents in the same season. Prior to that, it had not happened since 2006 (Kent State and Temple). While Minnesota has never faced Akron, P.J. Fleck is 1-0 all-time against the Zips thanks to a 41-0 win in 2016 while he was the head coach at Western Michigan. The Golden Gophers are 34-4-1 all-time against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference, including a 9-1 record at Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota has won three straight, and 13 of its past 14, against MAC schools.
3. After an elite redshirt freshman season, junior quarterback Drake Lindsey has continued his stellar play in 2026. Through two games, he's 50-of-72 for 543 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions for a rating of 137.4. Lindsey ranks third in the Big Ten with 25.0 completions per game and is fifth in passing yards. Last Saturday against Mississippi State, he set a career high in pass attempts and matched his personal best in completions as he was 31-for-48 for 279 yards. Lindsey also had 31 completions last year vs. Rutgers; that number is tied for fifth most in program history. He joins Mike Hohensee, Tim Schade and Adam Weber as the only Gophers to have multiple games in their career with 30 or more completions. After throwing for 264 yards in the season opener, Lindsey is the first Gopher to throw for 250+ yards in consecutive games since Tanner Morgan on Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, 2022. Last year, he was 246-of-389 (63.2 percent) for 2,382 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions, good for an efficiency rating of 126.9. He also had a team-high four rushing scores in 2025. Lindsey's numbers put him second all-time among Gopher freshmen for passing yards and passing touchdowns, while his eight wins were the most ever by a Gopher freshman QB. More on Lindsey can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
4. Fifth-year linebacker Maverick Baranowski, who is on the Butkus Award Watch List, is looking to do something at Minnesota that hasn't been done in nearly 20 years: lead the Gophers in tackles in back-to-back seasons. The last Gopher to do so was Lee Campbell in 2008 and 2009. Through two games in 2026, Baranowski leads Minnesota with 15 tackles, including 1.0 for loss. He had a team-high 103 tackles to lead Minnesota last season, becoming the first Gopher to record more than 100 tackles in a season since Blake Cashman had 104 in 2018. Baranowski added 9.0 tackles for loss (second on the roster), 3.0 sacks, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in 2025 to earn consensus Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. He led the team in tackles in four games last season and picked up right where he left off with a team-high six tackles in the 2026 season opener versus Eastern Illinois. He was then second on the roster last week with nine stops against Mississippi State. Baranowski, who was named Preseason Second Team All-Big Ten by Athlon, Phil Steele and Pick Six Previews, has recorded at least six tackles in each of the last 13 games. More on Baranowski can be found on Page 10 of the notes.
5. The 2025 campaign is the 10th for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the tied for the fourth-longest tenured coach in program history, is the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten and the 11th-longest tenured head coach overall in the FBS. Fleck's Minnesota record stands at 67-45, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (112). Fleck's overall win percentage of .598 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 14th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 97-67 (.591). He is three wins away from becoming the 18th active head coach to reach 100 wins at the FBS level.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Date/Time: Sept. 19, 2026 / 11 a.m.
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: First Meeting
Series vs. MAC: Minnesota leads 34-4-1
Streak vs. MAC: Minnesota won 3
First Meeting vs. MAC: Minnesota tied Ohio, 35-35, in Minneapolis (9/27/1969)
Last Meeting vs. MAC: Minnesota won, 23-10, vs. Buffalo in Minneapolis (8/28/2025)
Television: BTN // Joe Beninati (PXP), Tanner Morgan (Analyst), Anna Connelly (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 177, 231, 955; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (1-1) closes out its non-conference schedule Saturday as it hosts Akron (1-1) at Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network and the Gopher Radio Network. It'll be the first ever matchup between the Golden Gophers and Zips.
2. Coupled with last week's first ever meeting with Mississippi State, this season mark the first time since 2023 (Eastern Michigan and North Carolina) that the Gophers take on two new FBS opponents in the same season. Prior to that, it had not happened since 2006 (Kent State and Temple). While Minnesota has never faced Akron, P.J. Fleck is 1-0 all-time against the Zips thanks to a 41-0 win in 2016 while he was the head coach at Western Michigan. The Golden Gophers are 34-4-1 all-time against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference, including a 9-1 record at Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota has won three straight, and 13 of its past 14, against MAC schools.
3. After an elite redshirt freshman season, junior quarterback Drake Lindsey has continued his stellar play in 2026. Through two games, he's 50-of-72 for 543 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions for a rating of 137.4. Lindsey ranks third in the Big Ten with 25.0 completions per game and is fifth in passing yards. Last Saturday against Mississippi State, he set a career high in pass attempts and matched his personal best in completions as he was 31-for-48 for 279 yards. Lindsey also had 31 completions last year vs. Rutgers; that number is tied for fifth most in program history. He joins Mike Hohensee, Tim Schade and Adam Weber as the only Gophers to have multiple games in their career with 30 or more completions. After throwing for 264 yards in the season opener, Lindsey is the first Gopher to throw for 250+ yards in consecutive games since Tanner Morgan on Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, 2022. Last year, he was 246-of-389 (63.2 percent) for 2,382 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions, good for an efficiency rating of 126.9. He also had a team-high four rushing scores in 2025. Lindsey's numbers put him second all-time among Gopher freshmen for passing yards and passing touchdowns, while his eight wins were the most ever by a Gopher freshman QB. More on Lindsey can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
4. Fifth-year linebacker Maverick Baranowski, who is on the Butkus Award Watch List, is looking to do something at Minnesota that hasn't been done in nearly 20 years: lead the Gophers in tackles in back-to-back seasons. The last Gopher to do so was Lee Campbell in 2008 and 2009. Through two games in 2026, Baranowski leads Minnesota with 15 tackles, including 1.0 for loss. He had a team-high 103 tackles to lead Minnesota last season, becoming the first Gopher to record more than 100 tackles in a season since Blake Cashman had 104 in 2018. Baranowski added 9.0 tackles for loss (second on the roster), 3.0 sacks, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in 2025 to earn consensus Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. He led the team in tackles in four games last season and picked up right where he left off with a team-high six tackles in the 2026 season opener versus Eastern Illinois. He was then second on the roster last week with nine stops against Mississippi State. Baranowski, who was named Preseason Second Team All-Big Ten by Athlon, Phil Steele and Pick Six Previews, has recorded at least six tackles in each of the last 13 games. More on Baranowski can be found on Page 10 of the notes.
5. The 2025 campaign is the 10th for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the tied for the fourth-longest tenured coach in program history, is the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten and the 11th-longest tenured head coach overall in the FBS. Fleck's Minnesota record stands at 67-45, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (112). Fleck's overall win percentage of .598 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 14th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 97-67 (.591). He is three wins away from becoming the 18th active head coach to reach 100 wins at the FBS level.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Players Mentioned
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QB
/ FootballWednesday, September 16
Monday, September 14
Saturday, September 12
Saturday, September 12