Gophers offense, defense roll in 62-10 romp over Western Illinois

If ever you feel that your job is too physically demanding, just think about what poor Goldy Gopher went through Saturday.

A routine for the University of Minnesota mascot during football games is pumping out as many pushups as the Gophers have points each time they score. So, on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, Goldy had to do a whole bunch of pushups — 353 to be exact — as the Gophers administered a 62-10 drubbing of Western Illinois, an overmatched team that plays at the FCS level.

"I hope Goldy's super strong,'' Gophers wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell said. "Shout out to Goldy. He did his thing today.''

Goldy wasn't the only one doing his thing.

Mohamed Ibrahim rushed 23 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns, Trey Potts carried 10 times for 79 yards and two scores, and Tanner Morgan completed 14 of 18 passes for 287 yards and a TD as the Gophers improved to 2-0. Autman-Bell also chipped in with five catches for 118 yards in front of an announced crowd of 43,859.

Minnesota surpassed 600 yards of offense for the first time since Sept. 4, 2004, when it had 704 in a 63-22 rout of Toledo. The Gophers surpassed 60 points for the first time since a 62-26 victory over Indiana on Nov. 4, 2006.

The defense was stout, too, holding the Fighting Leathernecks to 35 rushing yards, eight first downs and 3.8 yards per play. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi's charges forced Western Illinois (0-2) into seven three-and-outs and one four-and-out.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck called the Sept. 1 season-opening 38-0 victory over New Mexico State, "workmanlike,'' and Saturday's effort got a "workmanlike-squared,'' label from Fleck, who added, "We did what we were supposed to do.''

Playing an FCS team that was 2-9 last year, that meant scoring early and often. After an opening-series fumble lost by wide receiver Mike Brown-Stephens, the Gophers offense scored on 10 consecutive possessions — four TDs and a field goal, to take a 31-3 halftime lead. They added four TDs and a field goal in the second half.

"It's not like a hidden formula or science,'' Morgan said. "It's throughout the week, communicating when you're watching film and understanding how we want to attack it.''

For Leathernecks coach Myers Hendrickson, Saturday's game became an exercise in picking your poison. He could play a conventional defense, hoping Ibrahim and Potts wouldn't ground and pound his team into submission. Or he could sell out against the run, and daring Morgan and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to win the game through the air.

Neither was a viable option, as the evidence shows:

"We were taking what the defense would give us, and it was a little bit more of a mixing and matching,'' Fleck said, comparing the Leathernecks defensive approach to what another FCS team, South Dakota State, did to frustrate the Gophers in a tight Minnesota win in 2019. "… They were throwing everything at us.''

The Gophers, though, had the answers, and that continued in the second half when Ibrahim gained 58 yards on five carries on one march and scored from the 1 to make it 38-3.

Set up by safety Jordan Howden's third-quarter interception, Morgan found a wide-open tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford for a 45-yard TD connection and 45-3 lead with 9:07 left in the quarter.

From there, Fleck rested Morgan, Ibrahim and Co., with only the final score left to settle.

With wins over New Mexico State and Western Illinois, the Gophers aren't about to throw a parade. The strength of opponent should ramp up next week with a visit from Colorado. Fleck, though, credited his team for its approach against opponents that were a combined 4-19.

"It's being confident that you can go out there and execute the game plan and be trusted. That's what tough is,'' he said. "And they've just got to keep getting tougher.''