Since 2019, Minnesota has struggled against non-conference opponents. This year is different. After shutting out the New Mexico State Aggies 38-0, Minnesota crushed the Western Illinois Leathernecks 62-10.
The Gophers began with two throws to Michael Brown-Stephens, yet the second completion ended in a fumble with the Leathernecks taking over and just entering Minnesota territory.
Minnesota’s stout defense returned the ball to its offense and Mohamed Ibrahim dove into the endzone for the Gophers’ first touchdown, his third score of the season.
Trey Potts’ and Tanner Morgan’s playing also stood out when Potts hit the endzone for his second score of the season, while Morgan got in the rushing touchdown action, rushing for his third touchdown of the season on a QB sneak.
The Leathernecks finally struck lightning on their third drive with Nick Davenport connecting on a 38-yard pass to Jafar Armstrong. That would be their only play of note, but with a key fourth down roughing the passer penalty on Minnesota, Western Illinois moved into field goal range.
By the first quarter’s conclusion, the Gophers dominated time of possession (9:10 to 5:50) and led 14-3.
At the end of the first half, Minnesota led 31-3 featuring two key bombs from Morgan: 54 yards to Chris Autman-Bell setting up a touchdown run and a 36-yarder to Le’Meke Brockington; the redshirt freshman’s second catch as a Golden Gopher.
Morgan ended the game early in the third quarter after throwing a 45-yard touchdown toss to Brevyn Spann-Ford. He finished with 287 yards passing on the day.
“He always knows where to go with the ball,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “That’s a compliment to Kirk [Ciarrocca] and the relationship they have, but it’s also a compliment to the other quarterbacks; they make each other better every day.”
Autman-Bell finished with 5 catches for 118 yards on 7 targets.
“I love it man, the trust between us two,” Autman-Bell said while talking about Morgan and his connection for both today’s and previous games. “It all started with the O-line up front, holding down the pass protection, running backs helping us out as well and just two [Morgan] trusting me to go out and make those plays.”
Before Spann-Ford’s score in the second half, Ibrahim came out guns blazing. He rushed for 58 yards on five carries during the Gophers first possession ending in a touchdown to extend the Gophers lead to 38-3. The Gophers defense continued to dominate led by Jordan Howden making a diving pick on a deep pass by Henry Ogala.
“At the end of the day it’s about executing the play that’s called, it’s really that simple,” Morgan said. “We were in good situations and made some plays. We gotta take care of the ball better, but I’m just proud of how the guys executed in the passing game today.”
Backup quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis filling in for Morgan was nothing short of impressive. In his first drive, he threw 3-3 for 67 yards and a rushing QB sneak touchdown to vault the Gophers lead to 52-3. The future for the Gophers, based on Kaliakmanis’ play Saturday, looks bright.
“There was a lot of people involved, they aren’t just catching on one route, they’re catching on multiple routes,” Fleck said in reference to the team’s overall passing game on Saturday. “The more you believe in serving and giving to your teammates, you’re going to get the reward and benefit off of that in some way.”
Minnesota will play Colorado at home next Saturday, Sept. 17 and former offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford Jr. (coached 2020-2021), will return to Minneapolis. The game will be televised on ESPN2 with a 2:30 kick.
