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24 hours removed from the Gophers’ thrilling 13-10 victory over Nebraska, there is plenty to digest from week one. Athan Kaliakmanis had an up-and-down performance, the running game struggled without Mohamed Ibrahim, portal additions Tre Jones and Corey Crooms Jr. shined and Tyler Nubin looked like one of the best football players in the country. Victories don’t always have to look pretty and we saw why in 2019 when Minnesota opened the season with one-score wins vs. South Dakota State, Fresno State and Georgia State.
Life without Mohamed Ibrahim:
The biggest difference between Gophers teams in the past and this year’s team is the running game. Without Mohamed Ibrahim, the Gophers only had 25 carries for 55 yards, totaling a putrid 2.2 yards per carry against Nebraska. But what is the issue? Sean Tyler had 10 carries for 41 yards in his first game donning the Maroon & Gold after transferring from Western Michigan and veteran Bryce Williams had 6 carries for 14 yards.
My biggest takeaway is that the Gophers will likely have to go to young RBs Zach Evans and Darius Taylor a little earlier than they would like. Bryce Williams has had 223 career carries, so Coach Fleck will continue to trust him and rightfully so, but I just don’t know if he has the big play ability of Evans or Taylor. Sean Tyler’s role will likely remain quite similar to what we saw Thursday and I think he will be fine. Overall, I think this Gophers offense will simply need to work out some kink with Greg Harbaugh Jr. calling plays, but I think the best option would be getting Zach Evans and Darius Taylor a little more involved.
Athan Kaliakmanis has an up-and-down game:
In game one of the season, Athan Kaliakmanis showed flashes of brilliance, but he also showed his fair share of struggles. He completed 24 of his 44 passes for 196 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, showing the potential of a Gophers offense with him at the helm, while also showing why experience matters at the position. Overall, I would say that he looked like the moment was too big for him in the first half. His decision-making seemed nervous and rushed, he didn’t look quite comfortable. With that being said, his 2-minute drill to get Dragan Kesich in position for a game-winning kick was tremendous. The Gophers looked like an offense with two transfer WRs a transfer RB, a new play caller and a young QB. It will take time for this unit to play up to its potential, but last night didn’t show any reason why that cannot be possible.
Tre’Von Jones and Corey Crooms Jr. shine:
The Gophers had a tumultuous offseason losing the likes of Trill Carter, Dylan Wright and Flip Dixon to the transfer portal. WR Corey Crooms Jr. (Western Michigan) and CB Tre’Von Jones (Elon) were among two of the biggest additions. Crooms (69.2) was the third-highest-ranked Gophers offensive player according to PFF, while Jones (72.6) was the fourth-highest-ranked Gophers defender. Both players made big-time plays, Crooms had seven catches for 63 yards and Jones had a massive INT in the redzone.
As maddening as the transfer portal can be in the spring, it can also be quite rewarding when the fall rolls around. The Gophers have seen first hand with players from the FCS level like Jack Gibbens. I think both Crooms and Jones can be two players that are major players on this team year-round. That is without mentioning players like Sean Tyler, Elijah Spencer and Jack Henderson. Fleck and his staff have proven to have a firm understanding of the transfer portal and this year is no different and has the chance to be their best class.
Parting Shots:
While the transfer portal players shined, so did some redshirt freshmen. Maverick Baranowski played well filling in for Cody Lindenberg totaling seven tackles and an impressive 72.2 PFF Grade, but the LB room as a whole seemed to seriously miss Lindenberg’s leadership. DL Anthony Smith and CB Tariq Watson also played major roles showing how talented the young players on this team can be.
Despite P.J. Fleck mentioning that the offensive line might see as many as seven players play, the five starters played all 69 offensive snaps. It wasn’t the most dominating performance up front, but it also wasn’t the worst. The unit might have some growing pains throughout the season, but I think they will only improve under offensive line coach Brian Callahan.
Overall, I think this game might be exactly what this young team needed. They now understand that they’re not invincible and they just went through a whole lot of adversity. Throughout the early parts of this game, I thought this team might be missing a vocal leader, but Thursday night proved that they have the Dawgs to be able to fight through adversity which is something that is nearly impossible to coach.