MINNEAPOLIS — The starting quarterback was new for Minnesota on Saturday, but two old standards shouldered the load in a 31-3 victory over Northwestern: Mohamed Ibrahim and Minnesota's defense.
Ibrahim rushed 36 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns as the Gophers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) overpowered the Wildcats to win their third consecutive game. In the process, the sixth-year senior running back moved into second place on the Gophers' all-time rushing yards list, surpassed 100 yards rushing for the 18th consecutive game and moved into sixth place in Big Ten history with his 51st career rushing TD.
Meanwhile, the Gophers defense allowed only a second-quarter field goal to Northwestern (1-9, 1-6), which lost its ninth consecutive game. Joe Rossi's defense limited the Wildcats to 72 rushing and 3 for 12 on third-down conversions.
"I'm really proud of our team tonight. I've got a lot of respect for them and how they persevered all week,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "We didn't have the greatest practice on Wednesday, and I let them know that. We challenged them, challenged the staff, and I thought they responded really well to that.''
Athan Kaliakmanis, replacing the injured Tanner Morgan at quarterback, made his first home start but wasn't called on much as the Gophers pounded Northwestern with their ground game. The redshirt freshman completed 7 of 13 passes for 64 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
With the victory and other results in the Big Ten on Saturday, the Gophers are in a four-way tie for first place in the West Division among Purdue, Illinois and Iowa. If the Gophers win their final two games — at home against Iowa next week and at Wisconsin on Nov. 26 — they would at least tie for the division title. To secure the West's spot in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, the Gophers would need to beat the Hawkeyes and Badgers and have Purdue and Illinois each lose one more game.
Kaliakmanis and the Gophers offense struggled on their first two possessions, with the QB going 0 for 3 and Ibrahim rushing twice for minus-4 yards, leading to two quick punts.
Northwestern got the game's first big play when quarterback Brendan Sullivan found a wide-open tight end Marshall Lang for a 37-yard gain to the Gophers 25. The Wildcats reached the 16 and went for it on fourth-and-1, but Gophers cornerback Terell Smith and safety Jordan Howden dropped Hull for a 2-yard loss, ending the threat.
"That was huge,'' safety Tyler Nubin said. "That gave us a bunch of energy. Just to see those guys flying around, it made everybody else want to fly around, too.''
The Gophers offense got moving on its third possession, driving 82 yards in nine plays for a 7-0 lead on Ibrahim's 6-yard TD run with 3:04 left in the first quarter. Ibrahim carried four times for 40 yards on the march, and on his touchdown run he moved into second place on the Gophers' career rushing yards list, passing Rodney Smith (4,122). Darrell Thompson is the career leader with 4,654. Ibrahim has 4,264 yards.
The Gophers increased their lead to 14-0 with 7:57 left in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Ibrahim, his 50th career rushing TD.
Northwestern cut the Gophers' lead to 14-3 on Adam Stage's 35-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats got two big plays to set up the field goal, with Sullivan hitting Malik Washington for a 27-yard gain to the Northwestern 34. Sullivan left the game because of injury after being hit on that play, and former starter Ryan Hilinski stepped in and immediately found Washington for a 49-yard gain to the Minnesota 17 as the Gophers missed a tackle on the play. Until giving up those two plays, the Gophers had allowed only 68 yards in the first half.
On Northwestern's second play of the third quarter, Nubin intercepted Hilinski's pass and returned it 11 yards to the Wildcats 25. The Gophers increased the lead to 17-3 on Matthew Trickett's 41-yard field goal. Later in the quarter, the Wildcats drove to the Gophers 41, but Hilinski's fourth-and-2 pass sailed incomplete over Evan Hull's head. The Gophers responded by driving 59 yards to extend the lead to 24-3 on Ibrahim's 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
True freshman running back Zach Evans scored on a 6-yard run with 4:24 left for a 31-3 Gophers lead.
"We got the victory tonight,'' Fleck said. "That's all that mattered, to go 1-0.''
