Minnesota routs Akron 41-7
Minnesota routed Akron 41-7. Share this game
We had Minnesota favored. It won.
How it swung
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Minnesota a 67% chance, and the closing betting line (Minnesota was a 22.5-point favorite) put it at 97%.
Minnesota led by 10 after the first quarter and by 20 at the half.
Minnesota 41-7 Akron
Minnesota wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.Akron 7-41 MinnesotaAkron lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Minnesota -22.5), at 97% for Minnesota (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.Watch the plays
The bar and the arrow show Minnesota’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.
- Q1, 12:14Lindsey 16-yd TD pass to VossMinnesota goes ahead 7-0Q1, 12:14 · Minnesota 7, Akron 0▲2%Minnesota’s chance to win, 96% to 98%▲2%Minnesota’s chance to win, 96% to 98%▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
- Q1, 10:36Gant 5-yd runfumblesQ1, 10:36 · Minnesota 7, Akron 07-0score after the play7-0score after the play▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
- Q1, 5:43Lindsey intercepted by Abor at the Akron 17returned 21 yardsQ1, 5:43 · Minnesota 7, Akron 07-0score after the play7-0score after the play▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
- Q2, 10:50Lindsey 6-yd TD pass to JenningsMinnesota leads 17-0Q2, 10:50 · Minnesota 17, Akron 0▲2%Minnesota’s chance to win, 98% to 100%▲2%Minnesota’s chance to win, 98% to 100%▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
- Q3, 7:37Lindsey 18-yd TD pass to SmithMinnesota leads 27-0Q3, 7:37 · Minnesota 27, Akron 027-0score after the play27-0score after the play▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
- Q4, 7:44Williams 10-yd TD runcuts it to 41-7Q4, 7:44 · Minnesota 41, Akron 741-7score after the play41-7score after the play▶Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
Every drive
Minnesota scored on 7 of its 14 drives; Akron on 1 of its 13.
Minnesota’s drives are teal, Akron’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
“When has a sack ever been ruled “forward progress”? I guarantee if the QB had shaken free they wouldn’t have called it dead.”
When fans got loud
Firestorm
Fans peaked in the second quarter.
The jump was firestorm; the crowd was quiet.
What it cost
Minnesota’s chance to make the playoff rose from 0% to 1%.
Make the playoff
Win the conference
Before the game (September 18, 2026) → after this result, in our model.
Box score
Minnesota 41, Akron 7
Minnesota covered −22.5 by 11.5. The total, 48, stayed under 48.5.
| Team totals | Akron | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 221 | 395 |
| Passing | 21 of 39, 173 yds | 17 of 31, 204 yds |
| Rushing | 21 for 48 yds | 33 for 191 yds |
| First downs | 16 | 20 |
| Third down | 3 of 13 | 5 of 14 |
| Fourth down | 0 of 1 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties | 7 for 74 yds | 4 for 45 yds |
| Time of possession | 25:56 | 34:04 |
Akron leaders
- Passing Brayden Roggow 12 of 25, 131 yds
- Rushing Marquese Williams 4 for 17 yds, 1 TD; Cibastian Broughton 3 for 17 yds
- Receiving Gentz Hilburn 3 for 49 yds; Jordan Gant 2 for 35 yds
Minnesota leaders
- Passing Drake Lindsey 17 of 31, 204 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing TJ Thomas Jr. 13 for 122 yds, 1 TD; Xavier Ford 8 for 41 yds
- Receiving Javon Tracy 5 for 91 yds; Noah Jennings 5 for 72 yds, 1 TD
Rain through most of the game
60° at kickoff · 0.1 in of rain by radar over the stadium
September game-day temperatures at Huntington Bank Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Where this weather comes from
Measured at Minneapolis airport, 6.3 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last two games
Akron · 1-1
Rated 58th in our preseason ratings, 61st now.
1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
Last two games
Minnesota · 1-1
Rated 29th in our preseason ratings, 40th now, down 11 spots.
1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 59-7 vs Eastern Illinois #200 of 668
won by 52 as a 42.5-point favorite
Week by week
Minnesota
- Wk 1Wvs Eastern Illinois59-7
- Wk 2Lvs Mississippi State13-38
Akron
- Wk 1Lat Wake Forest16-38
- Wk 2Wvs Robert Morris45-10
Power rating by week
Minnesota is rated 3.1 points ahead as of week 2. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Matchups
Biggest mismatch: Akron’s EPA/play against Minnesota, 46 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
Akron’s EPA/play against Minnesota’s defense
Akron offense, 28th percentile · Minnesota defense, 74th
Akron’s passing EPA against Minnesota’s defense
Akron offense, 24th percentile · Minnesota defense, 69th
Akron’s explosive plays against Minnesota’s defense
Akron offense, 12th percentile · Minnesota defense, 42nd
Season profile, all the rows
Season profile
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Minnesota fans are feeling it about like the typical fanbase this week (56th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.
- Model · 67%
- Line · 97%
- Minnesota fans · 56th
- Akron fans · 28th
Minnesota favored by 22.5 · Total 48.5
How games like this usually go
Minnesota by 22.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 411 games since 2025 with a favorite of 21.5 points or more.
The market
The spread moved 4 points toward Akron.
Spread: −26.5 → −22.5
The books’ cut: 3.6%, the margin built into the odds
Weather at kickoff
Mild, with rain. Feels like 61° at kickoff.
Akron at Minnesota · Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026 · Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
- 61°feels like at kickoff
- 0.02 inrain at kickoff
- 96weather score, Comfortable
At kickoff, Sept. 19, 2026.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
Kickoff times that Saturday
Games in this time zone used 8 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game is ringed. At Huntington Bank Stadium that day, a 6 pm, 6:30 pm or 7 pm kickoff would have scored 100, against 96 at 11 am.
- 11 am: 96, Comfortable (this game)
- 11:45 am: 96, Comfortable
- 1 pm: 96, Comfortable
- 2:30 pm: 93, Comfortable
- 3:30 pm: 94, Comfortable
- 6 pm: 100, Ideal
- 6:30 pm: 100, Ideal
- 7 pm: 100, Ideal
Weather score at each kickoff time.
Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.
At kickoff, Sept. 19, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.
Home field
Minnesota is worth +4.7 points (±4.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 59th percentile.
67% at home, 48% on the road against FBS opponents (34-17 home, 19-21 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.6 at home vs. away over 96 games — inside the ±6.7 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 650 miles to get here.