The difference between Minnesota’s first-half and second-half performances was like night and day on Saturday.
After being rendered scoreless in the first half, the Gophers found themselves down 10 points against Nebraska. The Gophers had previously lost 32 straight games with an equal or greater deficit.
In the second half, they flipped the script and broke the trend, beating Nebraska 20-13.
“They just came in there and knew what we had to do on the first drive in the second half,” said head coach P.J. Fleck post-game. “We had to get points on the first drive, and that was critical. We went down there and got three, which was huge.”
Minnesota started the day off rough. On the game’s first play, Nebraska running back Anthony Grant exploited defenders Mariano Sori-Marin and Jordan Howden’s tackle attempts and took the ball 36 yards downfield.
The drive ended with quarterback Chubba Purdy keeping it on an option play for a touchdown.
“‘The one thing that’s really hard is when you have to prepare for three quarterbacks,’” Fleck said, quoting defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. “We may as well just throw our game plan out the window.”
Minnesota tried to replicate the same magic through their running back Mohamed Ibrahim, but the drive was cut short after a sack on third down.
Purdy’s athleticism helped Nebraska’s offense trot down the field again with ease. This time, however, safety Howden slowed their passing attack by breaking up two passes, one of them nearly an interception. His efforts held Nebraska to a field goal.
The second quarter was uneventful for both teams’ offenses, as defenses began to conceptualize their opponent’s rhythm. Minnesota and Nebraska each got two sacks and forced three punts. Together, they totaled four three-and-outs.
Fleck continued to go through Ibrahim in an attempt to win back momentum, but the offensive line’s struggles were too overbearing. At halftime, the Gophers were averaging a loss of 0.4 yards per carry, a number foreign to fans familiar with their style of play.
“When they were in a four-down look, we were okay,” Fleck said. “It was when they got to some odd stuff, and overload stuff…they were getting pushback on us.”
Quarterback Tanner Morgan landed poorly while getting sacked on the final play of the second quarter. He was ruled out for the rest of the day with an upper-body injury.
That gave redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis another opportunity to play as the team’s starting QB and orchestrate a comeback.
Out of the gate, Kaliakmanis hit receiver Daniel Jackson and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford for a total of 25 yards. Ibrahim provided a slight push into field goal range where kicker Matthew Trickett nailed a 47-yarder.
The Kaliakmanis-to-Jackson connection continued to dominate in the third quarter. On their third offensive drive, the duo was responsible for 58 of the 86 yards. That drive was then capped by an Ibrahim touchdown, ending the deficit.
When Kaliakmanis was asked about his composure as a young starting quarterback, he said, “When I feel like I have a guy like Tanner Morgan able to teach me every day…and have an All-American running back and center like John Michael [Schmitz], guys like that, what is there to freeze over?”
Nebraska responded with a typical run-run-pass play-call concept that put them in another three-and-out situation and punted the ball back to Minnesota.
Ibrahim then carried the offense back into Nebraska territory for what looked to be another touchdown drive, but a Michael Brown-Stephens drop killed its potential. The Gophers settled for a field goal as a consolation to give themselves the lead.
Now on defense, Minnesota started applying heavy pressure on the opposing quarterback. Their consistent efforts forced Nebraska’s only turnover in the game. That turnover came in the form of a Terell Smith interception off a lofty pass.
Fleck decided to rely on Ibrahim again on the following drive, calling his name seven times in a row before he punched it in for his second, and last, touchdown of the day.
From there, Minnesota coasted on offense until the end of the game. The defense’s job was still unfinished.
A 32-yard catch by receiver Marcus Washington set Nebraska up for a field goal, which made the game a one-score difference. And after a Minnesota punt, Nebraska started their last offensive possession at their 12-yard line.
Washington grabbed another deep pass, this time for 31 yards. Logan Smothers then completed one of his next three passes and found himself in a dire 4th down situation. Smothers threw the ball deep, but Gophers safety Tyler Nubin delivered the hit on the receiver, forced a drop and sealed the game.
Minnesota is now 6-3 on the season, making them eligible to participate in a bowl game following the regular season. And if they win out, the Big Ten West title could be within reach.
Their next opponent is the 1-8 Northwestern Wildcats. They will make a return to Huntington Bank stadium to face them on Nov. 12.
