The Brief

  • The Gophers play at Penn State Saturday night, which means a homecoming for Pennsylvania native Anthony Smith.
  • Drake Lindsey was asked about 2027 on Wednesday, and says he's committed to playing out this season first.
  • Greg Johnson talked about the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams, and says more football is a good thing.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team plays at Penn State Saturday night, looking to end a two-game losing streak.

For at least one standout Gophers’ player, it’s a homecoming.

Anthony Smith expecting large fan contingent

The backstory

Gophers star defensive lineman Anthony Smith is a native of Shippensburg, Pa., which is about two hours south of Penn State’s campus. He expects there to be a large Gopher fan contingent at Saturday night’s game at Beaver Stadium. He’s predicting about 150 of his own family and friends will be at the game.

"I’m excited, again our focus is on a 1-0 championship every single week. You know that the schedule comes out in January, you get to see that we play Penn State at their home, that’s a pretty exciting game," Smith said. "There will be a good turnout for a lot of Minnesota fans from Pennsylvania."

Smith has 18 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season while facing double and even triple teams in every game.

Drake Lindsey not thinking about 2027 season

What they're saying

Three regular season games remain in Minnesota’s schedule, and the Gophers have to win at least one of them to earn bowl eligibility. Then, P.J. Fleck has to see what he has coming back for the 2027 season before he starts looking at the transfer portal.

Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea and Mississippi State’s Kamarion Taylor, who faced the Gophers earlier this year, have already announced they are returning for 2027.

Drake Lindsey at the start of the season was projected to be a possible first round pick if the season went well. From a numbers perspective, there’s still meat on the bone. He’s thrown for 1,797 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games.

He’s not thinking about if he’ll be back with the Gophers in 2027, at least not yet.

"Simply continue to focus on right now. This team is really special and we’re really close the last two weeks and winning those games. Just continuing to focus on now and being the best version of myself for teammates," Lindsey said.

Greg Johnson likes College Football Playoff expansion

Dig deeper

The College Football Playoff is currently 12 teams, but next year, it’s doubling to 24. That means more teams can get in, and the regular season should be that much more competitive to determine the final spots.

The format changes, too. The conference championship games are eliminated. The five automatic bids are from the Power 4 conference teams, determined by regular season record and tiebreakers, and the top Group of 5 team. There are also 19 at-large bids.

Gophers’ offensive lineman Greg Johnson says he’s all for expansion. That’s not surprising, as it would give Minnesota a better chance to get in.

"I think it’s a good opportunity, just more football, so that will be fun to watch. More football is always better," Johnson said.

The only problem for Johnson is he’s likely headed to the NFL next year.

What's next

The Gophers’ game at Penn State is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Beaver Stadium. If they win, they’re guaranteed a bowl game.

The Source

Gophers players Anthony Smith, Drake Lindsey, Greg Johnson and Maverick Baranoski spoke with reporters on Wednesday at Athletes Village.

Source: Yahoo Sports