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Photo by: Brad Rempel
MoTown Magic
12/28/2018 11:47:00 AM | Football
Mohamed Ibrahim and Minnesota ran past Georgia Tech in Quick Lane Bowl win
Detroit is the Music City and on Tuesday the Gophers paid homage to Motown with a rhythmic 34-10 Quick Lane Bowl victory against Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Minnesota was paced by freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who is affectionately known as Mo to his teammates.
Ibrahim entered the game needing 64 yards to become the third Gopher freshman ever to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
"I love my offensive line," said Ibrahim, who was named Quick Lane Bowl MVP. "We kind of joked about it, we knew I needed 64 yards to get to 1,000. Jared Weyler tapped me on the shoulder and told me I'd get 200."
Weyler, the sage fifth-year senior playing in his last game, turned out to be prophetic.
Ibrahim pounded out 224 yards – a record for a Minnesota freshman – on 31 carries and scored twice for the Gophers, as they routed an ACC team that finished second in the ACC Coastal, went 5-3 in conference play and won six of their last eight games in the regular season.
Many of Ibrahim's yards came after contact and Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck called him a "hammer" as the Gophers won the time of possession battle against Tech's patented triple-option offense.
How effective was Minnesota's offense? The Gophers did not punt and Minnesota scored on six (four touchdowns and two field goals) of its eight drives in the game. The two they didn't score on ended with a missed field goal and ended the game.
Quarterback Tanner Morgan was not surprised by the production of Ibrahim or that Minnesota didn't punt. In fact, he predicted it before the game, telling punter Jacob Herbers that his services would not be needed.
"I told Herbers before the game, I said, 'I love you, but you're not punting today,'" said Morgan. "It's just incredible for our offense to execute like that. And the run game kept a couple drives alive on third and long with a couple completions. But just running the ball physically, physicality up front, and those guys just doing what they need to do to move the chains and be able to extend drives."
Ibrahim ended the season with 202 carries for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns in just 10 games. His 1,160 yards are the second most ever for a Minnesota freshman behind Gopher legend Darrell Thompson, who rushed 217 times for 1,240 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games in 1986.
"You saw Mo in full force," said Morgan. "Mo has the how, he plays his heart out every single time he goes out there and he's an animal. I don't know what other word to describe him as, just an animal. He's incredibly talented and he's not afraid of anything. And he's going full force every single play, every single play in practice and in the game. And that's just how he is. And I just love him to death and I'm so proud that he's my teammate."
Ibrahim's 224 yards against Georgia Tech were the 12th most ever by a Gopher and were the most since Laurence Maroney had 258 yards against Wisconsin in 2005. Ibrahim's 224 yards were also the second most for a Gopher ever in a bowl game, trailing only Tellis Redmon who rushed 42 times for 246 yards against N.C. State in the 2000 MicronPC.com Bowl.
Ibrahim's 1,160 yards on the season rank 16th in school history and were two yards better than teammate Rodney Smith's 1,158 yards in 2016. Through one season and 10 games, Ibrahim now ranks 42nd all-time on Minnesota's career rushing list.
Ibrahim entered the game needing 64 yards to become the third Gopher freshman ever to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
"I love my offensive line," said Ibrahim, who was named Quick Lane Bowl MVP. "We kind of joked about it, we knew I needed 64 yards to get to 1,000. Jared Weyler tapped me on the shoulder and told me I'd get 200."
Weyler, the sage fifth-year senior playing in his last game, turned out to be prophetic.
Ibrahim pounded out 224 yards – a record for a Minnesota freshman – on 31 carries and scored twice for the Gophers, as they routed an ACC team that finished second in the ACC Coastal, went 5-3 in conference play and won six of their last eight games in the regular season.
Many of Ibrahim's yards came after contact and Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck called him a "hammer" as the Gophers won the time of possession battle against Tech's patented triple-option offense.
How effective was Minnesota's offense? The Gophers did not punt and Minnesota scored on six (four touchdowns and two field goals) of its eight drives in the game. The two they didn't score on ended with a missed field goal and ended the game.
Quarterback Tanner Morgan was not surprised by the production of Ibrahim or that Minnesota didn't punt. In fact, he predicted it before the game, telling punter Jacob Herbers that his services would not be needed.
"I told Herbers before the game, I said, 'I love you, but you're not punting today,'" said Morgan. "It's just incredible for our offense to execute like that. And the run game kept a couple drives alive on third and long with a couple completions. But just running the ball physically, physicality up front, and those guys just doing what they need to do to move the chains and be able to extend drives."
Ibrahim ended the season with 202 carries for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns in just 10 games. His 1,160 yards are the second most ever for a Minnesota freshman behind Gopher legend Darrell Thompson, who rushed 217 times for 1,240 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games in 1986.
"You saw Mo in full force," said Morgan. "Mo has the how, he plays his heart out every single time he goes out there and he's an animal. I don't know what other word to describe him as, just an animal. He's incredibly talented and he's not afraid of anything. And he's going full force every single play, every single play in practice and in the game. And that's just how he is. And I just love him to death and I'm so proud that he's my teammate."
Ibrahim's 224 yards against Georgia Tech were the 12th most ever by a Gopher and were the most since Laurence Maroney had 258 yards against Wisconsin in 2005. Ibrahim's 224 yards were also the second most for a Gopher ever in a bowl game, trailing only Tellis Redmon who rushed 42 times for 246 yards against N.C. State in the 2000 MicronPC.com Bowl.
Ibrahim's 1,160 yards on the season rank 16th in school history and were two yards better than teammate Rodney Smith's 1,158 yards in 2016. Through one season and 10 games, Ibrahim now ranks 42nd all-time on Minnesota's career rushing list.
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