A flag count that does not fit
Minnesota took 12 penalties for 115 yards in a 38-13 home defeat to Mississippi State. The Golden Gophers trailed 28-6 at the interval and never got close afterwards. For a programme that has built its identity on discipline, the number stands out more than the scoreline does.
“We’re not known for being a highly penalized team,” coach P.J. Fleck said. “You hope that’s just a one-game deal, because that’s not how you’re going to win football games at any level. High school, college, pros, you can’t have those types of penalties.”
Fleck has framed the week around response rather than regret. “What I love about our team is our fight,” he said. “You’re not going to win everything. Every drive, every series, every possession, every game. So you have to have the ability to respond and keep responding.”
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Akron arrive with momentum of their own
The Zips (1-1) visit Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon after a 45-10 win over FCS side Robert Morris. That followed a 38-16 loss at Wake Forest to open the season, so both teams in this nonconference meeting are 1-1 and both are coming off results that swung hard in one direction.
Akron coach Joe Moorhead spent his week studying the Minnesota quarterback. Drake Lindsey has completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 543 yards and a touchdown through two games.
“They have an NFL-caliber quarterback in the Lindsey kid,” Moorhead said. “He can really throw the football and is a little more athletic than he gets credit for, 6-5, 230-pound kid, traditional pro-style.”
The visiting quarterback has numbers too
Cibastian Broughton has completed 83 percent of his throws for 338 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also leads Akron in rushing with 153 yards, which tells you how Moorhead intends to stress a defence over four quarters.
Eighty-three percent is a rate that rarely survives contact with a Big Ten front. Whether it holds up in Minneapolis is the question Saturday answers, and Minnesota will settle for a clean penalty sheet either way.
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