Luke Drzewiecki made the kick that mattered most, drilling a 46-yard field goal on Saturday to lift Minnesota past Iowa 13-10 and keep his perfect season alive. The win also brought Floyd of Rosedale home for Minnesota.
That finish fit the season Drzewiecki has built since arriving in late August. Minnesota has been steadier on special teams with him in the mix, and the numbers show it: the Gophers made only 14 of 21 field-goal attempts last season, went 2-for-5 from 40 yards or longer, and missed both tries from beyond 50 yards. This year, they are 5-for-5 from 40 yards or longer, and their longest make has stretched to 51 yards.
Drzewiecki’s path to that kick was anything but ordinary. He played four seasons at the University of New Mexico as a walk-on, ran out of eligibility after last season, then joined a lawsuit with 40 other athletes and was granted another season. A tryout invitation from the Baltimore Ravens during rookie camp came and went, but the chance to keep playing did not. He chose Minnesota because of his former special teams coordinator, Daniel De Prato, and De Prato said the kicker looked the same under pressure as he did in spring ball, calm and unchanged when the game was on the line.
That was exactly how it sounded from the huddle. Drake Lindsey said Drzewiecki is the same guy every single day and told him, “Bro, you’re making a game-winner tomorrow.” Drzewiecki answered with the same plainness he has carried all season, saying all he had to do was kick the football. Minutes later, he did. Minnesota now turns to a stretch of Big Ten games that will ask for the same steadiness again, but Saturday gave the Gophers something larger than momentum: proof that their most reliable answer can still come from the newest face on the field.
