Ranking college quarterbacks was all the rage preseason, and there might be some indignation regarding where the Gophers’ starter has been slotted.

In July, the Athletic ranked redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey as the 89th QB in the country, which was within their “Tier 6,” defined as having “a lot of question marks, but there’s talent or a trait there that someone is betting on.”

After the smallest sample size possible —  the season opener — Lindsey should, at least, be considered in the top half (68) in the nation. His QB rating of 137.04 in a 23-10 victory over Buffalo was 64th overall, and 11th in the 18-team Big Ten. He completed 19 of 35 passes (54%) for 290 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on an odd play in which his pass bounced off a receiver.

With the opening weekend in the books, a dozen quarterbacks were deemed by The Athletic to have their “stock up.” But Lindsey wasn’t in that mix, either, despite the fact that Buffalo was playing with a veteran-laden defense.

For a little context, California, the Gophers’ first road opponent on Sept. 13, had true freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele climb from an unranked spot after a 234-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 34-15 win over Oregon State on Saturday.

Lindsey’s top highlight was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Smith early in the fourth quarter. Lindsey identified the Bulls were going to bring pressure and alerted his offensive line and running back Darius Taylor. Taylor picked up the linebacker, and Lindsey stepped up in the pocket, rolled right, kept his eyes downfield and found a wide-open Smith to make it 23-10.

“He played incredibly poised,” head coach P.J. Fleck said Monday. “I think he was very mature, talking about a freshman. … Across the country, there was a lot of football played this past weekend. A lot of young players played really well. A lot of young players didn’t play well. A lot of older players played well. A lot of older players didn’t play well.

“So, when you’re looking at who we have as our quarterback, I don’t think anything shocked me, because I think that I get to see that every single day. I get to see his composure.”

Lindsey’s first career start didn’t begin with happy feet or rushed reads. He was 5 for 7 for 50 yards in the opening quarter, and then 6 for 13 with a touchdown to tight end Jameson Geers. His interception came off Geers’ foot after Geers was knocked down on his shallow route.

“That was a wild experience,” Lindsey said.. :Great play by the guy (Buffalo linebacker Mitchell Gonser), but I’ve never seen something like that. “Just got to keep it out of harm’s way.”

Lindsey would have eclipsed 300 yards in his first college start if not for a handful of dropped passes. Fleck has estimated the drops at three or four. Lindsey’s 290 passing yards was fourth-most for a Gophers quarterback making his first start since 1977, and most yardage since Tanner Morgan threw for 302 against Indiana in 2018.

“It felt really good,” Lindsey said. “I had all the coaches behind me and all the players believed in me. I was really confident in the game plan, prepared really well.”

Lindsey was boosted by predecessor Max Brosmer attending the game at Huntington Bank Stadium while wearing a Lindsey white No. 5 jersey. Lindsey knew his role model was going to wear it after going out to dinner with Brosmer last week.

“He’s awesome, man,” Lindsey said. “It meant a lot that he was here and got to witness my first start.”

Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer, left, and Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey share an embrace after the Gophers’ 23-10 win over Buffalo on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2025 at Huntington Bank Stadium. (Brace Hemmelgarn / Gophers Athletics)

The biggest issues in Lindsey’s performance came in a two-minute drill before halftime. On first and 10 from the Buffalo 9, he nearly threw an interception to Miles Greer in the end zone, but the Bulls’ cornerback dropped it.

“Got away with one there,” play-by-play commentator Tim Brando said on the FS1 broadcast.

On second down, Lindsey was sacked for an 11-yard loss, which didn’t knock the Gophers out of field goal range, but forced Syracuse transfer kicker Brady Denaburg into a tougher 38-yarder to make it 10-3 at the break.

Fleck looks at sacks in the red zone as cardinal sins and sternly told Lindsey so immediately when the inexperienced quarterback got to the sideline.

“It wasn’t really an earful, it was just telling him — coaching him that he could not take a sack there,” Fleck said. “… (The coaching has) got to be immediate, and that’s when we had our moment on the field … He knows it, but now he’s got to go do it.”

Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey takes a snap in the Minnesota’s 23-10 victory over Buffalo on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Brad Rempel / Gophers Athletics)

Related Articles

Gophers football: Oklahoma lineman leaves U class for 2026

Gophers football: Koi Perich’s role on offense will continue to grow

Gophers football: Defense has ‘violent’ debut under Danny Collins

Gophers’ P.J. Fleck shares emotional message on Minneapolis shooting

Gophers pull away for a 23-10 win over Buffalo in season opener