Drake Lindsey completed 19 of 35 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his first career start, and Minnesota pulled away for a 23-10 win over Buffalo in the season opener for both teams Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Jalen Smith and Jameson Geers each caught a touchdown pass for Minnesota. Darius Taylor led the ground attack with 30 carries for 141 yards.
Ta’Quan Roberson completed 12 of 20 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown for Buffalo. Victor Snow had five catches for 67 yards and a score.
The Golden Gophers outgained the Bulls 443-151.
Minnesota opened the scoring with 13:53 remaining in the second quarter. Lindsey lofted a pass toward the end zone for Geers, who hauled in the 9-yard touchdown catch.
Buffalo pulled within 7-3 on a 36-yard field goal by Jack Howes with 7:56 left in the half.
The Golden Gophers made it 10-3 just before the intermission. Brady Denaburg connected on a 38-yard field goal with two seconds to go before halftime.
Denaburg made another field goal, this time from 29 yards, to increase Minnesota’s lead to 13-3 with 11:39 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bulls tallied their first touchdown to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. Roberson heaved a long pass down the field to Snow, who caught it while falling backward into the end zone for a 40-yard score.
Minnesota took a 16-10 lead on a 25-yard field goal by Denaburg with 11:31 to play.
The Golden Gophers finally found a crack in Buffalo’s defense during their next drive. Lindsey stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass to Smith, who made the catch near the 30-yard line and sprinted the next 30 yards for a 60-yard touchdown to increase Minnesota’s lead to 23-10 with 10:52 remaining.
Buffalo running back Al-Jay Henderson managed only 25 yards on 11 carries. Teammate Terrance Shelton Jr. added two carries for 16 yards for Buffalo, which finished with an average of 1.8 yards per carry after notching 44 yards on 24 carries.
