Wow.
Of all the different scenarios that could have come out of Wednesday’s Quick Lane Bowl, the end result might have been the most surprising of them all.
The Gophers stopped the No. 1 running team in the nation, holding them to just 206 rushing yards while running for over 260 yards as a team. Many of those yards came from Most Valuable Player Mohamed Ibrahim who finished the game with 31 carries for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
VIDEO: Fleck: “We can find a way to be a champion.”
7: Seven wins for Head Coach P.J. Fleck and Co. after a roller coaster of a season for the maroon and gold. For now, the haters will probably stay relatively quiet as another highly ranked recruiting class will come to campus in 2019.
12: Touchdowns for Tyler Johnson in the 2018 season, a new single-season school record. Johnson also broke the single-season reception yards record in the first quarter. Johnson finished the game with four catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
17: Combined tackles for Julian and Jacob Huff in their last game in a maroon and gold jersey. The brothers led the team in tackles and were captains for today’s game as well.
VIDEO: P.J. Fleck talks after the game!
0: Punts since the second quarter of the game against Wisconsin. The Gophers offense–especially on the ground–has been dominant behind an offensive line that continues to get better each season. 2019 is going to be no different as Minnesota will have a handful of capable running backs to get carries in tons of different formations.
132: Passing yards for Tanner Morgan which were more than enough in Wednesday’s victory. Morgan completed seven passes to three different receivers and had a pair of touchdown passes to Tyler Johnson. There was almost a third touchdown pass to Chris Autman-Bell but the officials said Autman-Bell stepped out on the three-yard line. Ibrahim finished the drive with one of his two touchdowns.
56: Both teams finished with exactly 56 plays but Minnesota did much more with theirs, averaging 7.0 yards per play compared to just 5.1 for Georgia Tech.
5: The Gophers converted on all five of their trips to the red zone in the Dec. 26 win. Minnesota also scored in every quarter while the team’s defense allowed zero points in both the first and fourth quarters of the victory.
224: Rushing yards for Mohamed Ibrahim are the most for a Gophers player since 2005 when Laurence Maroney ran for 258 vs. Wisconsin.
246: Days until the Gophers will open the 2019 regular season vs. South Dakota State!