What we learned in the Gophers’ victory over Buffalo

The Gophers defensive line set a physical tone from the get-go Thursday night in the season opener against Buffalo. They let the Bulls know that if they wanted to run the ball, there would be little space up front, and if they wanted to pass, they’d have a Gopher in their face.

The starting quartet of tackles Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding and ends Anthony Smith and Jaxon Howard combined for 11 tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss in the Gophers’ 23-10 victory. Their presence was a big reason why Buffalo was 1-for-11 on third-down conversions, averaging only 2.0 yards on third-down plays.

Eastern and Logan-Redding teamed to stop running back Al-Jay Henderson for a 2-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. On second down, Logan-Redding and linebacker Maverick Baranowski smacked Henderson for a 2-yard loss. And on third down, Smith authored a beautiful play, bull-rushing Buffalo left tackle Henry Tabansi and pushing the 310-pounder into quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson for a sack.

“They’re relentless,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said of his defensive linemen. “From Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding, Jaxon Howard and Anthony Smith, they’re relentless.”

It didn’t stop with that first possession. Smith broke up a pass out of the end zone and Howard hurried Roberson into a third-down incompletion with a nifty spin move on the Bulls’ second possession. Next time up, linebacker Devon Williams sacked Roberson on third down.

“We went into the game ready to play a full game, 60 minutes, of violent football,” said Eastern, who led the linemen with four tackles. “That was our goal — attack and be as violent as we can."

It made one wonder if Roberson, a sixth-year senior playing for his fourth team, was channeling John Blutarsky and muttering to himself, “Six years of college down the drain. I might as well join the Peace Corps.”

Here are four more observations from the opener:

With former teammate and Vikings quarterback Max Bromer in attendance and wearing his jersey, Gophers redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey made his first start and produced both spot-on throws and teachable moments.

Lindsey, who completed 19-of-35 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, was at his best on his two TD throws.

He put the ball into a small window that tight end Jameson Geers turned into a leaping, twisting 9-yard TD grab in the second quarter. Lindsey showed the patience to deliver a deep ball to Jalen Smith for a 60-yard TD play that made it 23-10 in the fourth quarter. Lindsey’s completion percentage of 54.3 would have been 60 if not for a couple of dropped passes.

On the flip side, Lindsey took a fourth-down sack in the red zone, leading to a field goal and a talking-to from Fleck.

Lindsey spread the ball around to nine different pass-catchers, and it’s clear that Geers will be one of his favorite targets this season. The senior was targeted eight times and caught four passes for 38 yards, a total that would have been better if he hadn’t dropped two passes.

The Gophers broke in two new specialists Thursday with Syracuse transfer Brady Denaburg replacing Dragan Kesich, and Ouachita Baptist transfer Tom Weston replacing fellow Perth, Australia, native Mark Crawford.

So, how did they fare?

“Bob Ligashesky [special teams coordinator] got a game ball,” Fleck said. “… Special teams played tremendous."

Denaburg kicked field goals of 38, 29 and 25 yards and had five touchbacks on his six kickoffs. Weston averaged 43.3 yards on his three punts, with two placed inside the Buffalo 20. The best came in the first quarter when long snapper Alan Soukup dived into the end zone and backhanded the ball back into play before he landed in the end zone. Logan Loya downed the ball at the 1.