When the Gophers last played on Oct. 1, they left Huntington Bank Stadium with their first loss of the season — a 20-10 setback to Purdue that left them with plenty of questions to ponder and a bye week to sort things out.
Mohamed Ibrahim's expected return answers one Gophers question. Here are two more.
The Gophers had a bye week to sort through their issues after taking their first loss of the season against Purdue.
October 10, 2022 at 5:34PM
On Monday, coach P.J. Fleck held his weekly news conference and offered some answers.
- First, does he expect that running back Mohamed Ibrahim — who missed the loss to the Boilermakers because of an ankle injury suffered the week before at Michigan State – will play at No. 24 Illinois on Saturday?
"I do,'' Fleck said, adding, "If we had another 24 hours, 48 hours [before the Purdue game], he might have made it.''
Ibrahim was injured in the Sept. 24 game at Michigan State and was limited in practice before the Purdue game. He participated in pregame warmups before being ruled out by the team's medical staff.
"It feels good, then overnight, it doesn't feel so good,'' Fleck said of the injury. "We worked through it throughout the week and limited him in practice. … I thought he looked really good in warmups, but we wanted to keep him safe. He looks really good this week.''
Ibrahim, a sixth-year senior and the 2020 Big Ten Running Back of the Year, leads the Gophers with 567 yards and eight touchdowns on 89 carries this season. His per-game average of 141.75 yards ranks fourth nationally, and his 12.0 points per game ranks third. He has been especially proficient in breaking tackles and moving the pile, as his 388 yards after contact attest.
With Ibrahim out, the Gophers (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) could not get their running game going against Purdue. Minnesota rushed 26 times for only 47 yards, with Bryce Williams (11 carries, 35 yards) and Trey Potts (nine carries, 13 yards) seeing the bulk of the action.
"Either we missed a hole at the running back position, made a cut too early, didn't trust it enough, or we got beat front. It was one or the other,'' Fleck said.
- Second, why did a team that looked so sharp in its 4-0 start suddenly lay an egg?
There were plenty of glaring examples of that against the Boilermakers. A third-down pass interference penalty on Gophers cornerback Terell Smith gave Purdue first down from the Minnesota 2 instead of fourth-and-3 from the 7, a likely four-point swing. Fleck's decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Gophers 29 led to a Purdue field goal. Usually reliable Matthew Trickett missed a 28-yard field-goal attempt. And Mike Brown-Stephens had a would-be touchdown catch go through his hands, off his chest and into the arms of a Purdue defensive back.
"It just seemed like it never went together. We had one of those days,'' Fleck said. "… As you watch the film, every single thing that could go wrong did go wrong. It was one guy out of the 11, and it was every play.''
- Third, how do the Gophers put that performance in the past with a game against a Big Ten West contender coming up?
Fleck went back to what he's emphasized all season: consistency.
"Consistency is incredibly critical as we keep moving forward throughout the season,'' he said.
When the Gophers are playing well, their offense controls the line of scrimmage, paving the way for Ibrahim to run, which in turn opens things up in the passing game for Tanner Morgan. That leads to long, clock-draining drives, which not only wear down the opponent's defense, but they also keep the opponent's offense on the sideline.
Of course, Illinois (5-1, 2-1) likes to keep the football, too. The Illini have won four in a row behind running back Chase Brown, whose 879 rushing yards lead the nation, and a defense that's allowing a nation's-low 8.0 points per game. Consistently avoiding mistakes will be the Gophers' best path to victory.
"That's college football,'' Fleck said of the mistakes in Purdue loss. "What we learned is that really good football teams can find a way to overcome those things.''
