Mohamed Ibrahim, in his humble way, shook his head during the postgame news conference when Tanner Morgan began politicking after being served a Heisman Trophy question regarding his running back.
"He's got my vote, for sure," Morgan said after Ibrahim rushed 23 times for 202 yards and three touchdowns in the Gophers' 49-7 victory over Colorado on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. "I've got the best seat in the house when '24' gets the ball. It's pretty fun."
From his physical, 19-yard run to start the game through his 15-yard run that capped his day after three plays on Minnesota's first possession of the third quarter, Ibrahim flashed the style the made him the 2020 Big Ten Running Back of the Year.
Ibrahim collected his fourth 200-yard rushing game, surpassed 100 yards for the 12th consecutive game, moved past Marion Barber III for fifth place on the Gophers' career rushing list and moved into a tie with Darrell Thompson for the program record of 40 rushing TDs.
"It says a lot about our team getting me in the end zone three times today,'' said Ibrahim, who was lost for the 2021 season in the opener because of an Achilles' tendon injury. "They pushed me."
Literally, Gophers teammates did push Ibrahim for his third touchdown, an 18-yard run in which he stampeded Buffaloes linebacker Joshka Gustav during what resembled a rugby scrum.
"I made a cut and then I saw No. 1 on the left, so I knew I had to get north-south right now,'' Ibrahim explained. "He kind of hit me, knocked me off balance. And then while I was falling, the safety was getting low for the hit. I kept my head up, and after that, I felt the push and just kept my feet going.''
Added Morgan, "That was pretty cool, huh?"
