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Gopher Offense Has Way With Auburn
1/2/2020 11:36:00 PM | Football
Minnesota piled up 494 yards of offense and had the ball for 37:35
The pregame talk of the Outback Bowl was how dominant Auburn's defense was and how Minnesota was going to struggle to move the ball.
That wasn't the case.
Minnesota rolled up 494 yards of total offense against Auburn, which was the third most that the Tigers allowed this year. Only Alabama (515 yards) and LSU (508 yards) racked up more yards against Auburn this season than Minnesota.
The Gophers did their damage on the land and through the air, as its balanced offense rushed for 215 yards and threw for 279 more in a dominant 31-24 win.
The 215 rushing yards allowed by the Tigers were the most by the Auburn defense since it allowed 303 to Georgia in 2018, which was 17 games ago.
Mohamed Ibrahim did the majority of the damage for the Gophers on the ground, as the sophomore rushed 20 times for 140 yards and one score. Ibrahim, who ran for 224 yards in a Quick Lane Bowl victory against Georgia Tech last season, did not have negative rush against the stout Auburn defense.
"We just wanted to go out and play our best," said Ibrahim, who is now Minnesota's bowl game career rushing leader with 364 yards. "We had a whole month to prepare for it and we came out and performed and got the numbers we could get. You don't want to look back and say, 'I could have done that, or I should have done that.' You want to leave it all out there for the seniors."
Minnesota controlled the entire game and had the ball for 37:35, which included the final 8:38. The Gophers started the final drive of the game at their own 20 and then drove to the Auburn nine before taking three straight knees to secure the win.
The 15:10 time differential was the most against Auburn since Georgia had the ball for 16:30 more than the Tigers in 2018.
The Gopher offensive line – which doesn't have a senior on it – kept the Tigers in check all day and didn't allow a sack.
"Our running game was clicking today and that's a credit to our running back, receivers and quarterback," said Blaise Andries, who shifted from left guard to right tackle to replace an injured Daniel Faalele. "Auburn is a great team and made good second half adjustments, but our offensive line just loves getting on the field and playing for each other and with each other."
Quarterback Tanner Morgan had time to work his progressions against the Tigers and completed 19-of-29 passes for 278 yards and two scores. Morgan improved to 15-4 as a starter and is now 2-0 in bowl games.
"It was very tough defense," said Morgan, who was named All-Big Ten Second Team this year. "I'm so proud of the way our guys executed as a team. We talked about it together all week and that's how we played."
On a day when Tyler Johnson caught 12 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and when Bryce Witham made two spectacular receptions on fourth day, the most significant play of the game may have been a seven-yard run in the fourth quarter.
That run by Ibrahim came on second-and-six at the Tiger 16. The stocky sophomore kept his legs churning and received a boost from his offensive line as they moved the pile to the nine and picked up the critical first down.
"My favorite play was that play, seeing our guys push the ball to get the first down," said Morgan. "It just shows the commitment of the team and our guys getting dirty. We knew what we needed to do, we knew we had to win the game right there. The downs after that we went to three knees and then it was game. Really proud of our guys finishing there."
That wasn't the case.
Minnesota rolled up 494 yards of total offense against Auburn, which was the third most that the Tigers allowed this year. Only Alabama (515 yards) and LSU (508 yards) racked up more yards against Auburn this season than Minnesota.
The Gophers did their damage on the land and through the air, as its balanced offense rushed for 215 yards and threw for 279 more in a dominant 31-24 win.
The 215 rushing yards allowed by the Tigers were the most by the Auburn defense since it allowed 303 to Georgia in 2018, which was 17 games ago.
Mohamed Ibrahim did the majority of the damage for the Gophers on the ground, as the sophomore rushed 20 times for 140 yards and one score. Ibrahim, who ran for 224 yards in a Quick Lane Bowl victory against Georgia Tech last season, did not have negative rush against the stout Auburn defense.
"We just wanted to go out and play our best," said Ibrahim, who is now Minnesota's bowl game career rushing leader with 364 yards. "We had a whole month to prepare for it and we came out and performed and got the numbers we could get. You don't want to look back and say, 'I could have done that, or I should have done that.' You want to leave it all out there for the seniors."
Minnesota controlled the entire game and had the ball for 37:35, which included the final 8:38. The Gophers started the final drive of the game at their own 20 and then drove to the Auburn nine before taking three straight knees to secure the win.
The 15:10 time differential was the most against Auburn since Georgia had the ball for 16:30 more than the Tigers in 2018.
The Gopher offensive line – which doesn't have a senior on it – kept the Tigers in check all day and didn't allow a sack.
"Our running game was clicking today and that's a credit to our running back, receivers and quarterback," said Blaise Andries, who shifted from left guard to right tackle to replace an injured Daniel Faalele. "Auburn is a great team and made good second half adjustments, but our offensive line just loves getting on the field and playing for each other and with each other."
Quarterback Tanner Morgan had time to work his progressions against the Tigers and completed 19-of-29 passes for 278 yards and two scores. Morgan improved to 15-4 as a starter and is now 2-0 in bowl games.
"It was very tough defense," said Morgan, who was named All-Big Ten Second Team this year. "I'm so proud of the way our guys executed as a team. We talked about it together all week and that's how we played."
On a day when Tyler Johnson caught 12 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and when Bryce Witham made two spectacular receptions on fourth day, the most significant play of the game may have been a seven-yard run in the fourth quarter.
That run by Ibrahim came on second-and-six at the Tiger 16. The stocky sophomore kept his legs churning and received a boost from his offensive line as they moved the pile to the nine and picked up the critical first down.
"My favorite play was that play, seeing our guys push the ball to get the first down," said Morgan. "It just shows the commitment of the team and our guys getting dirty. We knew what we needed to do, we knew we had to win the game right there. The downs after that we went to three knees and then it was game. Really proud of our guys finishing there."
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