The Minnesota Gophers suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the Purdue Boilermakers 20-10. The Gophers’ dreams of an undefeated season were crushed.

“I don’t think I played well enough,” said Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan. “Clearly that doesn’t allow you to stay ahead of the sticks and I have to be better for sure to give us a better chance to be successful.”

Minnesota’s high powered offense started off the game slow and was without leading rusher and dark horse Heisman candidate Mohamed Ibrahim, who was absent for the entire game. A five yard loss on the first play from scrimmage and a three-and-out sent the ball back to the Boilermakers quickly. The Gophers had trouble running the ball all day.

“Mo was close,” said Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck. “I think if we had a few more days, he would’ve been able to go…he was out there pregame, practiced yesterday, practiced Thursday…again we’re always going to keep our players safe.”

Purdue halfback Dylan Downing managed to scamper for an 11-yard first down on their first play on offense, and the Boilermakers didn’t step off the gas pedal. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who was battling a rib injury, threw a crucial third down pass to tight end Paul Piferi to keep the drive alive. The drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Downing and the Gophers faced their first deficit of the season.

On the Gophers’ next drive, Morgan followed up a near interception with actually tossing another to linebacker Jacob Wahlberg. The Boilermakers would take over at midfield and convert a 43-yard field goal making the game 10-0.

Thanks to a Jordan Howden interception, Minnesota was able to get on the score board in the second quarter. Gophers kicker Matthew Trickett, after missing a 27-yard field goal earlier, nailed a 45-yarder to make the match a one score game, 10-3.

Turnovers kept the Gophers alive and in the game: First Howden, then Jalen-Logan Redding second with a fumble recovery (forced fumble by Tyler Nubin) and to end the half, Nubin picked off O’Connell. Minnesota would be tied with the Boilermakers if not for a dropped Michael Brown-Stephens catch in the endzone that bounced off of him into the hands of Purdue defensive back Cam Allen.

The Gophers now have a 2-19 record when trailing at halftime under Fleck’s tenure.

Danny Striggow and the Gophers defense started the second half strong. During the third down with 12 yards to go, the Gophers’ edge rusher sacked O’Connell to force a Boilermaker punt. Following that stop, Minnesota started off strong offensively as well with a successful Brevyn Spann-Ford tight end screen pass for a twenty yard gain.

Brown-Stephens made a critical ten-yard catch to set up Minnesota with a first and goal. Minnesota running back Bryce Williams bowled his way into the endzone to tie the game at 10 a-piece.

In the final quarter, both teams dominated defensively. With around eight minutes left in regulation, O’Connell tossed a 22-yard pass to his favorite target and Iowa transfer, wide out Charlie Jones. This would slot the Boilermakers in Minnesota territory. The drive would end in a 25-yard field goal by Purdue kicker Mitchell Fineran. The Boilermakers led 13-10 with just under 5 minutes remaining.

Minnesota went three-and-out on their next possession. Following that, redshirt freshman Purdue running back Devin Mockobee went off, running for 68 yards down to the Gopher’s two yardline, then found paydirt. Purdue took a 20-10 lead on a 2-play, 75-yard drive that only took 45 seconds.

Morgan’s pass during the final minutes was intercepted by Allen again; the safety had two key interceptions in the game. Purdue would win the game 20-10 and Minnesota would lose its second straight homecoming game.

“Gotta congratulate Purdue, they played a really good game,” Fleck said. “They forced us to not play very well and you have to give them a lot of credit. They’re well coached, they got a good football team and we didn’t play well enough to win tonight.”

The Gophers enter their bye week and will not play next weekend. They will travel to Champaign, Illinois to face off against the Fighting Illini on Oct. 15. Illinois defeated the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday by a final score of 34-10 in Madison, Wisconsin.

“We’re not frustrated at all,” said Gophers linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin. “We didn’t stop them [Purdue] to allow our offense to win the football game. We’re not going to sit here and go back and forth, this is the team’s fault.”

The Minnesota Golden Gophers enter Homecoming week ranked no. 21 in the AP Poll, their first time in the rankings since 2020.

That ranking is due to their dominant performance last Saturday over Big Ten goliath Michigan State. The Gophers beat the Spartans 34-7 and totalled 508 yards on offense.

The leader of that offensive onslaught was Tanner Morgan, who has been the Gophers starting quarterback since the second half of the 2018 season. He has had his fair share of highs, like the 2019 season, and lows, like the 2021 season, but the sixth-year veteran has seemed to have returned to a high.

Back with his original offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca, Morgan has passed for 886 yards and seven touchdowns with only one interception this season. His quarterback rating (QBR) of 88.8 is fifth nationally, and he’s completed 77.2% of his passes, which ranks second-best.

Morgan diced up the Spartans’ secondary, only missing on two of his 25 passes in week four. He finished the day providing 268 yards through the air, scoring three times and rushing three times for 27 yards.

Due to this spectacular performance, Morgan was awarded Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. He shared the award with Michigan running back Blake Corum, who ran for 243 yards on 30 carries, reaching the end zone twice against Maryland.

“[Morgan] constantly wants to make everyone else around him better,” said Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck. “I think sometimes we take that for granted. I’m not saying we, internally, but when people look at Tanner, they don’t see all that every single day.”

Fleck continued, “they see him out there on Saturdays. They see him throw a pass here and there. They see complete or incomplete. Did he scramble? Did he get the first down or not? But we see him as the person he is, and I just keep seeing that (he’s) getting better and better. And he’s just super competitive, which is what you want in a leader.”

Pro Football Focus (PFF), which studies players and teams by using complex statistics, not only ranks Morgan as the top quarterback in the nation, but his 95.5 grade is the best of any football player in the country, regardless of position.

“He’s just a better player,” said Ciarrocca on how Morgan has improved since he last coached Minnesota in 2019. “I recognized that as soon as I got here. He’s had more experiences and everyone learns better through experience … if he fails, he embraces it as an opportunity to grow.”

The No. 21 ranked Gophers will host Purdue on Saturday at 11 a.m. televised on ESPN2. Sitting at 4-0 on the season, Minnesota cannot overlook their opponents this week.

“I think complacency is the number one killer of success,” Morgan said. “We always have that ‘change your best’ attitude of ‘we have to get better.’ We win a game and then we see a lot of clips Sunday and realize that we have to get better. I think that is just what our culture is.”

The Minnesota Gophers have officially entered Big Ten conference play and will travel to East Lansing, Michigan on Saturday to play the Michigan State Spartans.

Barring a 39-28 loss in Seattle, Michigan State would be slotted as a top-ten team today. They were ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll before playing the Washington Huskies but are now off the top-25 entirely.

“They are a Mel Tucker coached, Michigan State, tough football team,” said Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck. “They got a guy that plays basketball for them that makes plays for them on the offensive side of the ball … they’ve got wide outs galore, tight ends that can block and are incredibly athletic making freaky catches. They’ve got a quarterback who’s played a ton of football, who’s got a ton of moxy, leadership and control of the offense.”

The quarterback Fleck mentioned is Payton Thorne, who ranks 23rd in the FBS with seven passing touchdowns this year. He completed a career-high 30 passes last weekend on 42 attempts along with three touchdown tosses. Five of Thorne’s touchdown passes have been for more than 25 yards.

Thorne’s favorite target in 2021, Jayden Reed, has missed the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Reed is one of the most talented wide receivers in the Big Ten, catching over 1,000 yards in 2021.

If it is without Reed, whose status is still questionable, Michigan State will lean on tight end Daniel Barker and wide receiver Keon Coleman to try and penetrate Minnesota’s secondary.

“If you look at DJ (Daniel) Barker and Keon Coleman and some of those guys step up and do what they did, that was very, very good to see and I think that’s really good things as we build to move towards the future,” Spartans offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said.

Fleck continued to say if the Spartans did not get behind early and start slow on offense last week, the game would have had a more interesting conclusion.

“You look defensively, their front seven is long, athletic, experienced and they are very strong. One of their corners is 6’3” … they got length, size … special teams are consistent. So this is a very good football team that we’re going to play,” Fleck said.

Michigan State is tied for first in the Big Ten for fumbles forced (8) and fumbles recovered (6), which are both tied for first in the FBS. Four of those fumbles came in one game against the Akron Zips where those turnovers were converted into 28 points en route to a 52-0 shutout victory in week 2.

Picking up right where they left off in 2021, the Spartans also lead the Big Ten in sacks and rank seventh in the FBS with 12 total this season. Jacoby Windmon is their main wreckingball who leads the FBS in forced fumbles (4) and is tied for fifth in tackles for loss (6.5). He is the first Spartan to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors two weeks in a row (versus Western Michigan and Akron).

Both teams will wear a “UG” decal on their helmets to raise awareness for National Suicide Prevention Month and support the mission of The Gregory H. Montgomery Jr. Foundation for Ultimate Growth.

Mike Sanford Jr.’s return to Minneapolis was … rough. The Gophers former offensive coordinator and currently with Colorado got mauled by Minnesota 49-7.

Gophers running back Mohamed Ibrahim did not play in last year’s 30-0 shutout against the University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes and had to get acquainted with Colorado quickly. Ibrahim started off rushing five times for 40 yards and a touchdown on the Gophers opening possession.

On Colorado’s first play on offense, Gopher’s Terell Smith came flying in for a strip sack on J.T. Shrout and the ball was recovered by Jalen Logan-Redding. Minnesota and Ibrahim would quickly flip that turnover into points, while throughout the game Gopher offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was not afraid to trust his top tailback on long third downs

The Gophers ended up with a 14-0 lead with 8:44 left in the first quarter.

On Minnesota’s third offensive drive, Ibrahim converted a 3rd and 21 and a 3rd and 9 carry, bowling and bruising his way for every yard. Ibrahim finished the first quarter with an outstanding statline: 11 carries for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. Unfortunately, however, the Gophers drive ended with Tanner Morgan tossing his first pick of the season, caught by Isaiah Lewis.

The relentless running back for the maroon and gold didn’t slow down. Ibrahim soon tied Darrell Thompson’s all-time program career rushing TD record at 40 to put the Gophers up 21-0 with 9 minutes left in the second quarter.

At this point of the contest, Ibrahim – the only Gopher football player to ever run for over 200 yards four times – was running on average 9.3 yards per carry and finished out the game rushing 23 times for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns: a performance worthy of slotting him in Heisman Trophy consideration.

“DT (Darrell Thompson) was a big part of Minnesota history so just to be tied up with him is amazing,” said Ibrahim. “It says a lot about my team getting me into the end zone three times today. They were pushing me and motivating me and we got the job done today.”

On the other side of the football, Minnesota’s defense continued its dominance. At the first half’s conclusion Colorado only attained 39 total yards.

The Gophers then started to attack through the air starting with a 39-yard passing score from Morgan to Chris-Autman Bell. Shortly after that play on the next possession, Autman-Bell left the game with a right leg injury after Morgan threw a ball behind him.

“We don’t know exactly what’s going on but obviously we love CrAB (Chris Autman-Bell) to death he’s a huge part of this team,” said Morgan. “You never want to see your brother down on the field like that, but it was awesome for our guys to continue to row and row for Chris.”

Even with Autman-Bell sidelined, the Gophers receiving corps still shined. To close the half, Morgan tossed a touchdown pass to Dylan Wright who made an acrobatic catch to stay in bounds in the right corner of the endzone, putting Minnesota up 35-0 at halftime.

“We completed 12 passes to six other people who caught balls,” said Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck. “I think we’re deeper than we’ve ever been when you look at athletes and playmakers.”

Following a loud, high scoring first half, the second half was relatively quiet. The lone score in the third quarter was provided by Clay Geary jumping in the air to nab an 8-yard touchdown. That was the sixth year receiver’s first ever touchdown catch. Bryce Williams in the fourth quarter found paydirt as well, vaulting the Gopher lead to 49-0.

Colorado found the endzone for the first time with 9 minutes to spare in the game. Shrout found Austin Smith for four yards. Both Buffaloes quarterbacks (Shrout and Brendon Lewis) struggled mightily throwing for a combined 6-17 for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Minnesota opens Big Ten conference play next Saturday in East Lansing versus Michigan State. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with a 2:30 p.m. kick.

“This next week we’ll do whatever we can to play one of the best teams in the Big Ten and the country,” Fleck said, looking forward to the matchup with the Spartans.“We’ve watched them in the offseason [and] they’ve done a great job in the transfer portal and development. Then again, we can only focus on ourselves.”

Since 2019, Minnesota has struggled against non-conference opponents. This year is different. After shutting out the New Mexico State Aggies 38-0, Minnesota crushed the Western Illinois Leathernecks 62-10. 

The Gophers began with two throws to Michael Brown-Stephens, yet the second completion ended in a fumble with the Leathernecks taking over and just entering Minnesota territory.

Minnesota’s stout defense returned the ball to its offense and Mohamed Ibrahim dove into the endzone for the Gophers’ first touchdown, his third score of the season.

Trey Potts’ and Tanner Morgan’s playing also stood out when Potts hit the endzone for his second score of the season, while Morgan got in the rushing touchdown action, rushing for his third touchdown of the season on a QB sneak. 

The Leathernecks finally struck lightning on their third drive with Nick Davenport connecting on a 38-yard pass to Jafar Armstrong. That would be their only play of note, but with a key fourth down roughing the passer penalty on Minnesota, Western Illinois moved into field goal range. 

By the first quarter’s conclusion, the Gophers dominated time of possession (9:10 to 5:50) and led 14-3. 

At the end of the first half, Minnesota led 31-3 featuring two key bombs from Morgan: 54 yards to Chris Autman-Bell setting up a touchdown run and a 36-yarder to Le’Meke Brockington; the redshirt freshman’s second catch as a Golden Gopher. 

Morgan ended the game early in the third quarter after throwing a 45-yard touchdown toss to Brevyn Spann-Ford. He finished with 287 yards passing on the day. 

“He always knows where to go with the ball,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “That’s a compliment to Kirk [Ciarrocca] and the relationship they have, but it’s also a compliment to the other quarterbacks; they make each other better every day.” 

Autman-Bell finished with 5 catches for 118 yards on 7 targets. 

“I love it man, the trust between us two,” Autman-Bell said while talking about Morgan and his connection for both today’s and previous games. “It all started with the O-line up front, holding down the pass protection, running backs helping us out as well and just two [Morgan] trusting me to go out and make those plays.”

Before Spann-Ford’s score in the second half, Ibrahim came out guns blazing. He rushed for 58 yards on five carries during the Gophers first possession ending in a touchdown to extend the Gophers lead to 38-3. The Gophers defense continued to dominate led by Jordan Howden making a diving pick on a deep pass by Henry Ogala. 

“At the end of the day it’s about executing the play that’s called, it’s really that simple,” Morgan said. “We were in good situations and made some plays. We gotta take care of the ball better, but I’m just proud of how the guys executed in the passing game today.”

Backup quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis filling in for Morgan was nothing short of impressive. In his first drive, he threw 3-3 for 67 yards and a rushing QB sneak touchdown to vault the Gophers lead to 52-3. The future for the Gophers, based on Kaliakmanis’ play Saturday, looks bright. 

“There was a lot of people involved, they aren’t just catching on one route, they’re catching on multiple routes,” Fleck said in reference to the team’s overall passing game on Saturday. “The more you believe in serving and giving to your teammates, you’re going to get the reward and benefit off of that in some way.”

Minnesota will play Colorado at home next Saturday, Sept. 17 and former offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford Jr. (coached 2020-2021), will return to Minneapolis. The game will be televised on ESPN2 with a 2:30 kick. 

New Mexico State head coach, and former Minnesota Gophers head honcho, Jerry Kill stated in 2017 he never wanted to step foot in the University of Minnesota again after Athletic Director Mark Coyle fired then head coach Tracy Claeys. Claeys was Kill’s former defensive coordinator.

Kill told KARE 11 on Aug. 25 he was even unsure if he would shake PJ Fleck’s hand on the field.

Now we can see why. The Gophers on Thursday dominated their non-conference opponent 38-0.

The Aggies’ offense started out with a three and out. Quarterback Diego Pavia tossed a near interception to Gophers defensive back Justin Walley.

Minnesota then followed that defensive effort with an offensive drive. Seven plays for 74 yards, ending in a Mohamed Ibrahim touchdown, his first in 364 days.

Leaning heavily on Pavia’s running ability on their next drive, New Mexico State’s offense moved smoother. After giving up a first down, the Gophers stopped New Mexico State’s advances and the Aggies punted again. Quarterback Gavin Frakes subbed in for Pavia but to no avail, the Aggies couldn’t muster many first downs, only achieving two in the first three quarters.

The one-two running back punch of Ibrahim and Trey Potts attacked the Aggies defense relentlessly for the entire game. Ibrahim at the first quarter’s close posted 70 yards rushing, averaging ten yards per carry. Both players got game balls.

“Emotional,” said Fleck on what it was like watching Ibrahim play as well as he did coming back from a season-ending leg injury. “I’m not any of these players’ parents but you feel like you are…what he’s been through, what he’s overcome, is what row the boat is all about.”

On Potts, who suffered a season-ending leg injury versus Purdue last season, Fleck said, “Thanks to the doctors at Purdue, thanks to the medical team there, thanks to the medical team in Indiana, thanks to the doctors and medical team here at the University of Minnesota, he’s alive. He never knew if he’d play again.”

Through 15 minutes and three seconds, Ibrahim was the main reason the Gophers led 14-0. Potts found the end zone for the first time at the conclusion of the third quarter. Ibrahim finished with 21 rushes for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns while Potts ended with 17 rushes for 89 yards and a score.

After a Matthew Trickett 26-yard field goal make, the Gophers continued their rushing onslaught with Ibrahim achieving over 100 yards rushing in the first half, extending his streak to ten straight games since the 2020 Outback Bowl. Minnesota ended the half with a touchdown with a Tanner Morgan QB-sneak. 24-0 Gophers as halftime arrived.

Morgan continued to showcase his mobility in the second half as he dashed for a crucial 14-yard gain for a first down after the Gophers were backed up on a 2nd and 26. He then snuck in for another rushing touchdown to extend the Minnesota mauling of the Aggies to 31-0.

“I knew I had to get the first down,” Morgan said. “I had a couple really good blocks from the outside, Michael Brown-Stephens got me good blocks where I could get a couple yards to get the first. But, playing quarterback, third down is a huge part of that, being able to move the sticks. Whatever is necessary, that’s what I gotta do.”

Defensive lineman Thomas Rush earned the Gophers’ first sack of the game in the second half, sacking Frakes for another Aggies three and out. Defensive back Terrell Smith nabbed Minnesota’s first interception of the season during the fourth quarter on Frakes, picking him off in the end zone.

Redshirt-senior offensive lineman Axel Ruschmeyer suffered an injury late in the third quarter and did not return to the game. If he is out for an extended period of time, that could be problematic for a Gophers o-line, which features many new faces and not much experience.

The game ended in a Golden Gopher 38-0 shutout over New Mexico State. Minnesota totaled 485 yards compared to New Mexico State’s 91.

As to the Jerry Kill drama, Fleck met with Kill before the game and did in fact shake his hand after the game.

“I told him, ‘thank you for all you’ve done in my career,’” Fleck, who worked with Kill on Northern Illinois’ coaching staff, said. “I know this, I appreciate Jerry’s passion because I know how bad Jerry loves this place.”

Minnesota will play Western Illinois next Saturday, September 10, at 11 AM CST. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

The Minnesota men’s hockey team is looking to rebound after its second straight postseason loss to the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks. The Gophers have some key freshman additions to a team that has lost top players such as Ben Meyers, Sammy Walker and the Lucius brothers either to graduation or the NHL.

Forwards

Charlie Strobel – Strobel hails from Hill Murray High School where in the 2020 MN State Hockey Tournament, Strobel netted two goals as Hill Murray defeated Eden Prairie in the Class AA Championship game 4-1. Strobel chose the Gophers over rival University of Wisconsin where his father and uncle both played.

Logan Cooley – Cooley is the star of this year’s freshman class. Some people have projected him as one of North America’s top two skaters and is being compared to Phil “The Thrill” Kessel.

“This is an elite recruit for the Gophers,” Draft Analyst Chris Peters from HockeySense, who predicted Cooley could be the first overall pick in the draft, said. “There’s not a deep enough blue to express what a blue chip recruit this is.”

Connor Kurth – Kurth last played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL and played high school hockey for Gentry Academy where he totaled a whopping 70 points during 2019-20 and allocated 81 points in his most recent season playing for the Saints.

John Mittelstadt – Sibling to Casey Mittelstadt, he last played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. During his final season with the Eden Prairie Eagles in 2019-20, he was team captain and finished second on the team in points (49) and first on the team in assists (32).

Garrett Pinoniemi – As team captain for Holy Family Catholic Fire in 2018-19, Pinoniemi scored 66 points in 24 games. He last played for the Sioux Stampede and totaled 37 points in his most productive season in 2020-21.

Jimmy Snuggerud – Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Snuggerud is a third-generation Gopher.

“I’ve always loved Minnesota, the location is awesome … I really like the facilities and the athletes village is crazy, so I think it was a great decision,” Snuggerud told the RinkLive in 2021.

In 2021-22, Snuggerud notched 63 total points playing for the U.S. National U18 team. He is originally from Chaska, Minn.

Brody Lamb – Before playing USHL hockey for the Green Bay Gamblers, Lamb had one of the best high school careers in Dodge County history. In his final year playing for the Wildcats, he allotted 52 goals and totaled over 87 points. Lamb was named First Team All-State and the Associated Press High School Player of the Year in Minnesota that season, leading his team to a Class-A Minnesota State second place finish.

Defenseman

Ryan Chesley – Influenced by his grandfather, who attended his Shattuck-St. Mary’s games in Maroon and Gold, Chesley chose the Gophers over North Dakota. He has an incredible physical presence with a good one-timer shot and range of scoring abilities from the point. This makes him one of the top USA hockey defensemen.

Cal Thomas – After skating in two state tournaments for the Maple Grove Crimson and playing a hefty amount of games for the Sioux Falls Stampede and the Chicago Steel, Cal Thomas is a welcome addition to the Gophers D-unit.

“As a kid from Minnesota, you grow up watching the Gophers and you want to be a Gopher, so it’s a dream come true to become one,” Thomas told the RinkLive in October 2021. “They’re fun to watch, they’re a great team, they play at a fast pace that’s exciting and they have probably the best ‘D’ corps in the nation right now.”

Luke Mittelstadt – Brother of Casey and John, Luke most recently played with the Madison Capitols of the USHL. He scored 55 total points last season with 19 goals. At Eden Prairie, he chalked up 28 total points in each of his first two years playing, and in his final season, he took it up a notch and put up 35 total points with 9 goals. He was also an Eagles team captain with his brother John in 2019-20.

Goalies

Zach Wiese – Wiese is the first Rochester Grizzly to become a division one hockey player. The Rochester Grizzlies play in the North American 3 Hockey League. Wiese is originally from Owatonna, Minnesota, where he was a captain in 2019-20. In 2021-22 playing for Rochester, Wiese had a .927 save percentage and a clean 1.70 goals against average. His win-loss total was 20-2-2.

“It’s crazy; I never thought this [committing to Minnesota] would happen to me,” Wiese told the Rochester Post Bulletin in June after making the announcement official. “It’s been a roller coaster. When [the possibility] was brought to my attention, it was like ‘yeah, sure, it would be cool.’ But you’re thinking it’s probably not going to happen.”

On Tuesday, Gophers head coach PJ Fleck and four Gophers players spoke at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days. The four players accompanying Fleck were QB Tanner Morgan, OL John Michael Schmitz, LB Mariano Sori-Marin and DB Tyler Nubin.

The glaring topic at Big Ten Media Days was the addition of two PAC-12 goliaths (USC and UCLA) to the conference, stretching its influence from the east coast to the west. Fleck, from a football standpoint, welcomes the Trojans and Bruins with open arms.

“If you look at the major media markets now, that’s incredibly positive,” Fleck said on the impact of the Big Ten’s decision to move west. “We have a ton of living alumni on the west coast…about travel…I was a part of MACtion. You know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights on nine-hour bus rides. There’s people way smarter than me that will figure all that (travel) out. It’s a big change and we’re excited about having the LA market in the Big Ten.”

Talking about his own team, Fleck mentioned that this group of Gophers is the “most committed” squad he has ever coached.

“The committed part has to do with have-to versus want-to,” said Fleck. “There’s a decision to be made: ‘here’s what I have to do, here’s what’s on the schedule and do I really want to do that have-to part. After that then what’s the unrequired work that I’m going to do on my own that’s going to make me a better football team and a better football player.’”

Fleck said the leaders on his team, mostly made of sixth-year graduates, fully embrace the “want-to” mentality.

Kirk Ciarrocca has returned as offensive coordinator for the Gophers after leaving his post in 2019 to join the Penn State coaching staff. Morgan is excited to reunite with his old play caller.

“It’s awesome to have him back leading the charge of our offense. He’s gonna coach our guys really hard and put us in chances to be successful everyday,” Morgan said. “We’ve got a long way to go in training camp but I’m really excited to continue to learn from him and be coached by him every day.”

Schmitz commented on why he and other six-year players, like Tanner Morgan, decided to come back for a sixth year instead of graduating and taking a chance on the NFL Draft.

“Just the people that I came in with, talking about Tanner, Mo (Ibrahim), and CRAB (Chris Autman-Bell). Coach Fleck likes to call it the ‘Encore Four’ that came back,” Schmitz said. “I wanted to leave this program with the vision we had when we first got here and that is to win a championship.”

Last season, the Gophers were third in the nation in total defense after having major problems during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season. Nubin said they were able to make such a ginormous leap in 2021 by “paying attention to the details”.

“We focus on preparing for our opponent every single week. Whether we have a bye week or a quick turnaround…we’re always looking to out-prepare our opponent,” Nugin said.

Nubin also mentioned that DL Austin Booker, DL Jalen Logan-Redding, LB Devon Williams and DB Michael Dixon are some relatively unknown faces that will break out and make huge splashes this year on defense.

Update: A third Gopher, linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin, was named to the Butkus Award Watch List on Monday, which is for the best college linebacker in the nation. Sori-Marin is the Gophers’ leading returning tackler and joined 50 other linebackers on the Watch List. 

Center John Michael Schmitz and running back Mohamed Ibrahim are in the running for some nice hardware before the 2022 season has even begun.

Schmitz was honored on the Rimington Award Watch List Friday, which is awarded to the nation’s top interior offensive lineman annually.

Ibrahim was named to the Doak Walker Award Watchlist Wednesday and the Maxwell Award Watch List Monday. The Maxwell Award is presented to the most outstanding collegiate football player in the nation, while the Doak Walker Award is given to the top running back.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranks Schmitz as the 4th best interior offensive lineman in the country. PFF grades every player on how well they perform on each play and is paramount to the Rimington Award’s Trophy Committee. Without the PFF data, there would be no watchlist.

“Schmitz, one of the more under-the-radar offensive linemen in the Big Ten over the past few years, enjoyed his best season yet in 2021,” said PFF. “His 88.1 PFF grade ranked third-best among FBS centers, and he earned an 87.5 run-blocking grade while also not allowing a single sack or quarterback hit in pass protection. Since 2019, Schmitz has been the second-most valuable center in the Power Five — behind only Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum, now with the Baltimore Ravens. Schmitz has a real chance to take home the Rimington Trophy in 2022.”

For Ibrahim, his nomination on the Doak Walker Award list is familiar. A year ago, Ibrahim was named for the same award before unfortunately tearing his achilles tendon in week one. During that marquee game versus No. 4 Ohio State, Ibrahim rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters.

The Maxwell Award is a new avenue for Ibrahim, and he is one of 85 players nationwide selected to the Watch List. Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be revealed on Nov. 1, three finalists will be selected on Nov. 22 and the winner will be announced on Dec. 8 on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

The Minnesota Gophers currently have 18 total commits for the 2023 football season, including one four-star and 17 three-stars.

The lone four-star recruit is OL Jerome Williams of Osseo, Minnesota. Williams selected his hometown team over Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas and West Virginia.

“My parents liked it. They don’t know much about football, they are kinda like me, newer to the sport,” Williams told CCX Media in February. “I love the program, the coaching staff has shown so much love and so much effort in building relationships.”

Williams joins three-stars Greg Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn.), Reese Tripp (Kasson, Minn.) and De’Eric Mister (Gary, Ind.) in the 2023 offensive lineman unit. On the defensive line, Minnesota signed Martin Owusu (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Karter Menz (West Fargo, N.D.). TE Sam Peters, who, like Williams, is from Osseo but played at Maple Grove, has also signed with Minnesota. Peters led Maple Grove to its first 6A State Championship appearance in 2021.

At the skill positions, RB Marquese Williams (Harrisburg, Pa.) leads the way choosing the Gophers out of a variety of schools that offered him, including powerhouses such as Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Texas A&M.

“I like their style of offense that they run,” Williams told Rivals.com during his official visit. “Their head coach has great energy and the running back coach and offensive coordinator are nice guys.”

During his junior season at Bishop McDevitt, Williams rushed for 1,697 yards and 26 touchdowns, averaging a whopping 9.9 yards per carry. As a receiver he had 13 catches for 217 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Other notable skill position acquisitions include RB Darius Taylor (Walled Lake, Mich.), CB Zaquan Bryan (Savannah, Ga.) and WR Donielle Hayes (Pensacola, Fla.). QB Drew Viotto from Darius Taylor’s high school is the only gunslinger the Gophers have signed. Last year at Walled Lake Western, Viotto and Taylor led the Warriors to a 7-4 record. Viotto previously was committed to play at Eastern Michigan.

“The Big Ten is one of the best conferences in the country and it’s always been a dream of mine to play football in the Big Ten for a program like Coach Fleck is building at Minnesota,” Viotto told The Oakland Press. “I think I fit what Minnesota is doing offensively and I can’t wait to get on the campus and into that quarterback room so I can get to work. Coach Fleck is a very energetic, passionate coach. I’m very excited to play for him.”