The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights play in a matchup of Big Ten foes. That also means the return of Athan Kaliakmanis to Dinkytown.
The former Gopher quarterback is in his second season as the starter for Rutgers.
Kaliakmanis, in last year's matchup, torched the Gophers for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 26-19 win.
Minnesota is coming off a bye week following a disappointing performance at Cal two weeks ago. This will be their opener to Big Ten play this season.
The Golden Gophers enter Saturday's game with the top-ranked defense in the country, allowing just 177.7 yards per game, even after the tough loss at Cal. This will be a stiffer test, however.
Rutgers has put up nearly 450 yards of offense on average, and over 300 of that in the air. But their competition has been even less impressive than the Gophers getting to Big Ten games. They've defeated two MAC teams, Ohio and Miami (OH), along with Norfolk State.
Gopher coach PJ Fleck says this first Big Ten game will be key for his young players, as they are playing a lot of them so far in 2025.
"I said this at the beginning, I said we're going to play some guys on offense that are really, really young," says Fleck. "Well, young equals inexperienced. They're gonna do things that maybe at times is really good and shows flashes of what exactly we're saying. That these guys are really talented players. And then they're gonna do some things you're like, OK, there's the youth. And I think for some, that's kind of what we've had. We've only played three games and we've really had one power four game."
Rutgers (3-1) at Minnesota (2-1), Sept. 27 at 11:00 a.m.
How to watch: BTN
Key stats
Minnesota Offense
Overall: 420.7 yards per game (55th in FBS)
Passing: 240.3 yards per game (61st)
Rushing: 180.3 yards per game (57th)
Scoring: 34.3 points per game (50th)
Minnesota Defense
Overall: 177.7 yards per game (1st in FBS)
Passing: 136.3 yards per game (16th)
Rushing: 41.3 yards per game (1st)
Scoring: 12.3 points per game (18th)
Rutgers Offense
Overall: 445.8 yards per game (37th in FBS)
Passing: 304.8 yards per game (22nd)
Rushing: 141 yards per game (91st)
Scoring: 41.8 points per game (22nd)
Rutgers Defense
Overall: 343.5 yards per game (59th in FBS)
Passing: 192 yards per game (57th)
Rushing: 151.5 yards per game (78th)
Scoring: 24 points per game (76th)
Minnesota is 20th in defensive third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert on 26.5% of third downs.
Rutgers ranks 18th in the FBS averaging 36 penalty yards per game.
Minnesota ranks 112th in FBS in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 100% of trips.
Both teams rank high in time of possession. Minnesota is 6th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 35:12, while Rutgers' 9th-ranked average is 34:28.
Team leaders
Minnesota
Passing: Drake Lindsey, 634 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs, 60.5 completion percentage
Rushing: Darius Taylor, 161 yards on 33 carries, 0 TDs
Receiving: Javon Tracy, 150 yards on 6 catches, 1 TD
Rutgers
Passing: Athan Kaliakmanis, 1,150 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT, 68.8 completion percentage
Rushing: Antwan Raymond, 310 yards on 61 carries, 7 TDs
Receiving: Ian Strong, 367 yards on 24 catches, 2 TDs
Last game
Minnesota was beaten by California 27-14 on Saturday, Sept. 13. Lindsey led Minnesota with 205 yards on 19-of-32 passing (59.4%) for one touchdown and one interception. Fame Ijeboi had 85 rushing yards on 16 carries, adding one reception for -1 yards. Lemeke Brockington had eight receptions for 106 yards.
Rutgers lost 38-28 to Iowa on Friday, Sept. 19. Kaliakmanis led Rutgers with 330 yards on 24-of-40 passing (60.0%) for no touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 10 times for 4 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Raymond had 62 rushing yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Strong recorded 151 yards on eight catches.
Next game
Minnesota plays at No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 4.