Shorthanded Golden Gophers take down Cornhuskers
Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries to lead Minnesota to a 24-17 win at Nebraska on Saturday in a Big Ten contest.
Tanner Morgan went 17-of-30 passing for 181 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Gophers (3-3).
Minnesota prevailed despite missing 33 players for undisclosed reasons. Head coach P.J. Fleck had said earlier in the week that 20 or more players would be sidelined due to COVID-19 quarantine protocols.
Adrian Martinez rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown, and passed for 111 yards and a touchdown in defeat for Nebraska (2-5).
Minnesota opened the scoring with 7:26 left in the first quarter when it rolled the dice and went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Nebraska 26-yard line. The decision paid off when Ibrahim scored on a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 Golden Gophers.
Minnesota took a 10-0 lead with 14 seconds left in the first quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Anders Gelecinskyj before Nebraska found its footing in the second quarter.
The Cornhuskers cut Minnesota’s lead to 10-7 with 13:12 remaining in the second quarter on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Austin Allen, and then took a 14-10 lead with 2:57 left until halftime on a 7-yard touchdown run by Martinez.
Minnesota answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, retaking the lead at 17-14 with 1:23 left until halftime on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Morgan to Brevyn Spann-Ford.
After a scoreless third quarter, Minnesota took a 24-14 lead with 11:26 remaining on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal by Ibrahim.
Nebraska closed within 24-17 with 4:42 left on a 30-yard field goal by Connor Culp.
But that would be the last time Nebraska saw the ball, as Minnesota drove from its own 22 to the Nebraska 6-yard line with over a minute left before taking a knee to end the game.
–Field Level Media
