EAST LANSING, MICH. – Chris Autman-Bell, the Gophers' top wide receiver, didn't make the trip to Michigan State because of the season-ending lower leg injury he suffered last week and the surgery that followed on Wednesday. Still, he was there in spirit for his teammates, who made sure the Gophers' first game without Autman-Bell was successful.
Gophers show off depth at receiver in Chris Autman-Bell's absence
Tanner Morgan happily spread the ball around, with 10 players catching passes and Daniel Jackson scoring twice.
September 25, 2022 at 4:07AM
In Saturday's 34-7 rout of Michigan State, Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan made sure pretty much anyone who could catch a pass would get one thrown his way. Morgan completed 23 of 26 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, with 10 different Gophers catching his throws.
"You'd love to have a mixture if you can,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "I thought tonight we had a really good balance.''
Mike Brown-Stephens led the Gophers with six receptions for 73 yards. Dylan Wright had three grabs for 54 yards. And Daniel Jackson caught three balls for 42 yards, including touchdowns of 23 and 4 yards.
"A lot of guys that were involved in the game plan and made plays,'' Morgan said. "It makes my job really easy.''
Tribute to Ibrahim
The Gophers celebrated loudly after the game, and much of that was because of running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who got his 41st career rushing touchdown and moved past Darrell Thompson for the most in school history.
"Celebrating him becoming the all-time rushing touchdown leader was pretty cool,'' Morgan said. "That's pretty special. … He's gonna downplay it, but that's history. DT [Thompson] was the all-time Gophers great.
Ibrahim rushed 22 times for 103 yards and one TD. In the third quarter, he was slow to get up after taking a hit along the sideline. Trainers examined his left foot, and Ibrahim walked off the field under his own power. He would return to the game.
Glimpse of the future
Darius Taylor, a running back from Walled Lake (Mich.) Western High School who has committed to the Gophers, turned in a monster game Friday night. The 5-11, 187-pound three-star recruit rushed for 468 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-35 victory over Milford. The rushing total is a school record, and the six-TD game was Taylor's third of the season.
In five games this season, Taylor has rushed for 1,477 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Etc.
- Gophers linebacker Braelen Oliver was injured on the first series of the third quarter. He walked off the field with a limp but later returned to the game.
- Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle, in a pregame interview with KFXN-FM, said Big Ten athletic directors will meet this week in Chicago to finalize the 2023 schedule. Coyle also said they will consider if they keep the nine-game conference schedule and whether to retain the current divisional alignment.
- Representatives from the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl attended Saturday's game.
- Fleck made his coaching debut in 2013 for Western Michigan at Michigan State. The Spartans beat Fleck's Broncos 26-13.
- The Gophers improved to 7-17 vs. the Spartans in East Lansing. Their previous victory here came in 2006, by a 31-18 score; they had lost at Spartan Stadium in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
- Kenneth Sebree, who played defensive back for the Gophers from 1990-92, gave the speech at Saturday morning's captains' breakfast.
The Gophers jumped out to a 22-point lead after one quarter and never eased off against the Grizzlies.
