5 reasons for optimism following Minnesota's first loss

The Gophers came up short in their first road game of the season at Cal. They still have an unbeaten record in Big Ten play, but they also haven't played a conference game. Let's take a look at five reasons for optimism as they head into the Big Ten portion of their schedule.

Drake Lindsey is the real deal

Through three starts, Lindsey has completed 60.5% of his passes for 634 yards, five total touchdowns and two interceptions. His 89.3 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade is the highest for any Gophers offensive player. It hasn't been perfect, but he looks like a quarterback that Minnesota should do all it can to keep in the maroon and gold for as long as possible.

For example, Athan Kaliakmanis completed 51.1% of his passes for 446 yards, two total touchdowns and two interceptions in the first three games of the 2023 season. It has looked like a different story for Lindsey so far.

Their 2024 recruiting class looks historically good

Koi Perich broke onto the scene last season as a true freshman, but he has since been joined by a handful of his classmates from the 2024 high school cycle. Lindsey highlights a group of redshirt freshmen who continue to stand out alongside LT Nathan Roy, RB Fame Ijeboi, WR Jalen Smith and CB Mike Gerald, who have already carved out a role on this team. Add true freshman Emanuel Karmo looking like the real deal, and recruiting classes like that are how you build a program.

Still unbeaten in conference play

Cal obviously doesn't play in the same conference as Minnesota, so the Gophers are still unbeaten in Big Ten play. A nonconference loss makes their margin of error to get to eight or nine wins quite small, but they still have many of their goals in front of themselves.

Bye week is at the perfect time

P.J. Fleck has routinely pulled this program out of adverse situations, and he will have to do it again during the team's first bye week of the season. If Minnesota had a conference game this week, things could unravel quickly with a young team. They will not get an extra week to prepare for the Big Ten gauntlet, along with an extra week for Darius Taylor and now A.J. Turner to get healthy.

Rivals aren't doing much better

A massive part of college football is rivalries, and Minnesota's top two rivals, Iowa and Wisconsin, aren't sitting in a much better spot. The Hawkeyes have a loss to Iowa State and the Badgers got embarrassed on the road at Alabama. If Minnesota is able to regroup and finish 8-4 or 9-3 with wins over Wisconsin and Iowa, I think many fans should be satisfied.