The Minnesota Golden Gophers ended their season on a high-note Thursday, defeating the Syracuse Orange 28-20 to claim the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.
With the win, Minnesota finishes their 2022 season with a 9-4 overall record.
The Gopher Report recaps Thursday's game trends, key stats, and key players below.
Game Trends:
- John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota's All-American center and Remington Award finalist, opted out of Thursday's Pinstripe Bowl shortly before kickoff. He is projected to be a high NFL Draft pick.
- Athan Kaliakmanis went out with a right leg injury midway through the second quarter and never returned. Before his injury, Kaliakmanis was 7-of-9 for 80 yards.
- Tanner Morgan entered the game and hit Daniel Jackson on a beautiful 20-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone that saw Jackson make a spectacular grab over with a defender in his face.
- Running back Mohamed Ibrahim set a Minnesota single-season rushing record and career rushing record during Thursday's win. The previous single-season mark was held by David Cobb with 1,629 yards in the 2014 season. The career rushing mark was previously held by Darrell Thompson with 4,654 yards.
- Minnesota true freshman safety Coleman Bryson had a game-changing 70-yard pick-six that put Minnesota up 21-10 with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter.
- Minnesota took advantage of a Quentin Redding 62-yard kickoff return as Tanner Morgan hit Daniel Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown two plays later to put the Gophers up 28-13.
- Syracuse quarterback Garrett Schrader kept the Orange close, scoring on a 7-yard scramble with 2:30 remaining to cut the Minnesota lead to 28-20. However, Syracuse could not recover the onside kick attempt.
- Mohamed Ibrahim, who didn't appear in the second half, came in for the final play of the game alongside Tanner Morgan. Both took their final snap of their Minnesota careers to help secure a Gophers victory.
Key Stats:
- Syracuse outgained Minnesota 484 yards to just 215 and won time of possession as well, 34:11 to 25:49.
- The Orange ran 86 total plays, compared to 49 for Minnesota.
- Syracuse quarterback Garrett Schrader was 32-of-51 passing for 330 yards and one interception. He also had 45 yards rushing and two scores.
- Combined, Kaliakmanis and Morgan went 11-of-18 for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
- Orange wide receiver Devaughn Cooper hauled in seven catches for 114 yards. Minnesota was led by Daniel Jackson, who finished with four catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
- LeQuint Evans led Syracuse in rushing with 94 yards on 15 attempts. Despite not playing in the second half, Mohamed Ibrahim still led the Gophers with 71 yards and one score.
============================
- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.
- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @AlexCarlsonTGR, @SeanW_Rivals, @DylanCC_FB, @JaredHalus
- SUBSCRIBE to The Gopher Report.
