Whether it was through the air, the ground game, or excellent special teams work, the Minnesota Gophers got it done on Thursday versus Eastern Illinois by an opening night spanking of 59-7 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Most notably, Javon Tracy had not one, but two punt return scores. On his four punt returns, he totaled 167 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first Gopher ever to have two punt return scores in the same game. He also tied the record for most individual Gopher punt return touchdowns in a career with his two on Thursday night.

Fleck attributed the special teams’ success to the new hiring of coach Daniel Da Prato in January 2026. “It’s one of the better decisions we’ve made here,” Fleck said. “How he’s brought the entire team together on the special teams unit is exactly what I was looking for.” 

In fact, Fleck and Co. only decided to have Tracy as the Gophers’ punt returner 2-3 days before the season opener, and the whole staff voted on him to be their guy.

“Punt returns…you just got to get in the way somehow and then let the people do their job,” Fleck said about the blocking. “And his vision (Tracy) is so good…so, it’s: catch, make the first guy miss, get a first down, and then a touchdown…it’s not that hard; it just hasn’t happened in forever.”

Those two touchdowns “set the tone” for the entire game, according to Fleck, and they paved the way for the passing and running games to open up.

Tracy didn’t just punt return; he additionally caught five passes for 98 yards. The man throwing him the football is the highly touted Drake Lindsey, who had himself an impeccable day through the air: 19/24, 264 yards and a touchdown (185.3 QB rating). As Lindsey continues to develop in this pro-style offense, with his arm strength and accuracy leading the way, he is a dark-horse high quarterback selection in a future NFL Draft.

“I thought it was at a high level,” said Lindsey, on how timely the offense was playing. “When we have all these returning guys who have done this together, add great pieces to it and great coaches, I think it makes a really sound unit.”

For most of the play-action plays to work, a strong running game had to be present. Longtime Gophers running back Darius Taylor has returned for his senior season to give them consistency on the ground; tonight was no different: 14 carries for 56 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Taylor is also a very versatile player. Besides playing running back, he frequently lines up as a wide receiver or even in the wildcat. “I told him after the game that whoever your next quarterback is, he’s going to fall in love with you,” said Lindsey about Taylor, who was the second running back in Minnesota history to reach 100+ catches.

“It’s awesome,” said Taylor, who prides himself on his catching ability. “Giving Drake an outlet…third downs, pass-pro, and catching the ball…it’s really fun.”

Defensively, the Gophers didn’t have anything major to write home about on the stat sheet, but only allowing one score should be all that’s needed for a win. 9 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble; A consistent workmanlike night for the maroon and gold resistance.

Up next, the Gophers will take on Mississippi State, the first SEC team to play at Huntington Bank Stadium. It should be a raucous environment and definitely a tighter game against a team that has plenty of experience playing against tough competition down south.

“We’re proud to be 1-0,” said Fleck. “We need these extra 2-3 days…there’s three teams from the Big Ten to play an SEC team this year: Ohio State, Michigan, and the Gophers. Mississippi State is a really good football team, Coach Lebby is a really good football coach…and this is going to be way harder (with all due respect).”

The Gophers will play the Bulldogs next Saturday, September 12th at 2:30 PM CT on CBS.