University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Huntington Bank Stadium
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Michigan
Photo by: Mac Brown
Game 5 Preview: Minnesota vs. Michigan
9/30/2026 9:48:00 AM | Football
THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time: Oct. 3, 2026 / 11 a.m.
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: Minnesota trails 25-78-3
Streak vs. Michigan: Minnesota lost 5
Series in Minnesota: Minnesota trails 12-36-2
Streak in Minnesota: Minnesota lost 18
First Meeting: Minnesota won, 14-6, in Minneapolis (10/17/1892)
Last Meeting: Minnesota lost, 27-24, in Ann Arbor (9/28/2024)
Television: FOX // Gus Johnson (PXP), Joel Klatt (Analyst), Jenny Taft (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 178, 232 or 956; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. RV/RV Minnesota (3-1, 1-0 B1G) hosts its first Big Ten game of the season Saturday as it welcomes RV/24 Michigan (3-1, 0-1 B1G) to Huntington Bank Stadium. The day starts at 9 a.m. with FOX's Big Noon Kickoff live from in front of 3M Arena at Mariucci. The game then starts at 11 a.m. on FOX and the Gopher Radio Network.
2. Saturday marks the 107th all-time matchup between Minnesota and Michigan, and it's also the 100th battle for the Little Brown Jug, an earthenware water jug (a full history of which can be found on Page 60 of the Notes). With history dating back to 1903 and the first contest for the Jug taking place in 1909, the advantage in the all-time series for the Jug belongs to Michigan at 73-23-3. The Gophers are looking to win it for the first time since 2014 and first time at home since 1977.
3. Drake Lindsey has continued his stellar play into his junior season. Through four games, he's 88-of-132 for 951 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions for a rating of 141.7. Lindsey ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 18th nationally with 22.0 completions per game. He's also eighth in the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns. At Washington, Lindsey was 21-of-29 passing for 204 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. In the first half alone, he was 15-of-16 for 125 yards and three touchdowns. It was Lindsey's fourth career game with three or more TD passes, including his second straight. He had three touchdown throws the prior week against Akron, marking the first time he's had multiple touchdown passes in consecutive games. And he was the first Gopher to have 3+ touchdown throws in back-to-back games since 2023. In less than two full seasons as the Gophers starter, Lindsey already holds the school record for career TD-to-INT ratio (3.25; 26-8) and he's second in completion percentage (.643), interception percentage (.0152) and starting QB win percentage (.647; 11-6). More on Lindsey can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
4. Under the tutelage of new coordinator Daniel Da Prato, Minnesota's special teams is thriving in 2026. Javon Tracy's 278 punt return yards are more than all but one team in the nation so far this year, and he is tied for the FBS lead in punt return touchdowns after taking two back against Eastern Illinois in the season opener. By doing so, he became the first Gopher ever with two punt return scores in one game. Tracy is leading the Big Ten and is fifth in the nation in punt return average (21.4). He's got three punt returns this year of at least 60 yards, tied for the most by an FBS player in a season since at least 2020, and the only Gopher to accomplish the feat since at least 1962. In addition to Tracy, Quayd Hendryx is averaging 26.8 yards on five kick returns, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 12th in the FBS. As a team the Gophers are eighth in the nation in punt return average (21.71) and 32nd in kick return average (24.17). Luke Drzewiecki is 6-of-6 on field goals, including four makes from 40+ yards. Tom Weston is averaging 40.5 yards per punt, good for sixth in the Big Ten, and has put nine of his 17 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line (see chart right to see how that's helped the field position battle). For good measure, the Gopher special teams unit also has a blocked field goal by Naiim Parrish.
5. The 2026 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 69-45, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth in Big Ten wins (40) and fifth in games coached (114). Fleck's overall win percentage of .605 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 99-67 (.596). He is one win away from becoming the 20th active head coach to reach 100 wins at the FBS level.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Date/Time: Oct. 3, 2026 / 11 a.m.
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: Minnesota trails 25-78-3
Streak vs. Michigan: Minnesota lost 5
Series in Minnesota: Minnesota trails 12-36-2
Streak in Minnesota: Minnesota lost 18
First Meeting: Minnesota won, 14-6, in Minneapolis (10/17/1892)
Last Meeting: Minnesota lost, 27-24, in Ann Arbor (9/28/2024)
Television: FOX // Gus Johnson (PXP), Joel Klatt (Analyst), Jenny Taft (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 178, 232 or 956; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. RV/RV Minnesota (3-1, 1-0 B1G) hosts its first Big Ten game of the season Saturday as it welcomes RV/24 Michigan (3-1, 0-1 B1G) to Huntington Bank Stadium. The day starts at 9 a.m. with FOX's Big Noon Kickoff live from in front of 3M Arena at Mariucci. The game then starts at 11 a.m. on FOX and the Gopher Radio Network.
2. Saturday marks the 107th all-time matchup between Minnesota and Michigan, and it's also the 100th battle for the Little Brown Jug, an earthenware water jug (a full history of which can be found on Page 60 of the Notes). With history dating back to 1903 and the first contest for the Jug taking place in 1909, the advantage in the all-time series for the Jug belongs to Michigan at 73-23-3. The Gophers are looking to win it for the first time since 2014 and first time at home since 1977.
3. Drake Lindsey has continued his stellar play into his junior season. Through four games, he's 88-of-132 for 951 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions for a rating of 141.7. Lindsey ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 18th nationally with 22.0 completions per game. He's also eighth in the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns. At Washington, Lindsey was 21-of-29 passing for 204 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. In the first half alone, he was 15-of-16 for 125 yards and three touchdowns. It was Lindsey's fourth career game with three or more TD passes, including his second straight. He had three touchdown throws the prior week against Akron, marking the first time he's had multiple touchdown passes in consecutive games. And he was the first Gopher to have 3+ touchdown throws in back-to-back games since 2023. In less than two full seasons as the Gophers starter, Lindsey already holds the school record for career TD-to-INT ratio (3.25; 26-8) and he's second in completion percentage (.643), interception percentage (.0152) and starting QB win percentage (.647; 11-6). More on Lindsey can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
4. Under the tutelage of new coordinator Daniel Da Prato, Minnesota's special teams is thriving in 2026. Javon Tracy's 278 punt return yards are more than all but one team in the nation so far this year, and he is tied for the FBS lead in punt return touchdowns after taking two back against Eastern Illinois in the season opener. By doing so, he became the first Gopher ever with two punt return scores in one game. Tracy is leading the Big Ten and is fifth in the nation in punt return average (21.4). He's got three punt returns this year of at least 60 yards, tied for the most by an FBS player in a season since at least 2020, and the only Gopher to accomplish the feat since at least 1962. In addition to Tracy, Quayd Hendryx is averaging 26.8 yards on five kick returns, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 12th in the FBS. As a team the Gophers are eighth in the nation in punt return average (21.71) and 32nd in kick return average (24.17). Luke Drzewiecki is 6-of-6 on field goals, including four makes from 40+ yards. Tom Weston is averaging 40.5 yards per punt, good for sixth in the Big Ten, and has put nine of his 17 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line (see chart right to see how that's helped the field position battle). For good measure, the Gopher special teams unit also has a blocked field goal by Naiim Parrish.
5. The 2026 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 69-45, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth in Big Ten wins (40) and fifth in games coached (114). Fleck's overall win percentage of .605 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 99-67 (.596). He is one win away from becoming the 20th active head coach to reach 100 wins at the FBS level.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
P
/ FootballWednesday, September 30
Wednesday, September 30
Wednesday, September 30
Monday, September 28