Gophers snap counts and notable PFF grades from OT loss against Indiana

As 20.5-point betting underdogs, nobody was picking the Gophers to beat Indiana, but the No. 4-ranked Hoosiers needed overtime to hang on 23-16 at home. Another elite showing from the Gophers’ defense and special teams was nearly enough for an upset win.Gophers’ offensive snap counts vs. Indiana (out of 60)QB Drake Lindsey: 60LT Nathan Roy: 60LG Bennett Warren: 60C Greg Johnson: 60RG Tony Nelson: 60RT Daniel Shipp: 60WR Noah Jennings: 56WR Jalen Smith: 51WR Javon Tracy: 43RB Darius Taylor: 30TE Kaden Helms: 27RB TJ Thomas: 20TE Roman Voss: 19TE Julian Johnson: 16TE Jacob Simpson: 15RB Xavier Ford: 10TE George Rohl: 7WR Quayd Hendryx: 3WR Zion Steptoe: 3The Gophers’ entire offensive line and Lindsey were the only offensive players to play all 60 snaps. Voss logged a career-high 19 snaps with Pierce Walsh still out of the lineup, and the role could grow even further with Johnson suffering a scary injury on Saturday. Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 10 snaps)1. Johnson — 70.72. Thomas — 69.53. Tracy — 69.54. Voss — 69.25. Ford — 69.2Johnson continues to perform like Minnesota’s best offensive player, and he’s nearly a shoo-in to be a first-team All-American at the end of the season, barring an injury. Thomas broke a couple of long runs in the second half, and Tracy was their No. 1 receiver again. Voss and Ford are two young players who continue to grow into the offensive game plan.Gophers’ defensive snap counts vs. Indiana (out of 74)S Zack Harden: 74CB Aydan West: 74CB John Nestor: 74S Kerry Brown: 73DL Anthony Smith: 73LB Maverick Baranowski: 71S Aidan Gousby: 64OLB TJ Bush Jr.: 60LB Joey Gerlach: 48DT Theorin Randle: 39DT Riley Sunram: 37DT Xion Chapman: 26DE Karter Menz: 26LB Matt Kingsbury: 26CB Naiim Parrish: 12DT Jaylin Hicks: 11DT Naquan Crowder: 11DE Jaxon Howard: 8S Mekahi Smith: 4LB Mason Carrier: 2DE Adam Kissayi: 1The Gophers had six different defensive players on the field for 70 more snaps. They got Sunram back from injury and he played the second-most snaps at defensive tackle, while they rotate a lot of players at that position.Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 10 snaps)1. Nestor — 76.82. Randle — 70.53. Baranowski — 70.04. Kingsbury — 65.95. Brown — 63.6Nestor has been the MVP of the Gophers’ defense all season, and Saturday was no different. Randle came up with a big sack, which showed up in his PFF grade, and the Gophers’ linebacker room continues to perform at a high level.Related ArticlesGophers get early kickoff for next week’s home game against undefeated UCLAGophers-Indiana player/coach ratings: Drake Lindsey’s struggles continueGophers lose to Indiana in overtime after trading 60-yard field goalsMinnesota catches No. 4 Indiana off guard with beautiful trick-play touchdownThis story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Nov 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.