The Gophers beat Nebraska 13-10 in a dogfight to open the 2023 college football season. It was a thriller for sure, but the wild ending wasn’t the only thing that stood out.
1. Athan Kaliakmanis has plenty of weapons
The new era of Minnesota Gophers football appears to feature less running and more passing, led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and a talented receiving trio of wide receivers Daniel Jackson and Corey Crooms, and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford.
Jackson was the go-to option for Kaliakmanis, who found him nine times for 68 yards including the game-tying toe-dragging touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Check out how good Jackson’s route was before he made the incredible catch to the tie the game 10-10.
FOOTBALL IS BACK: THIS IS NASTY ROUTE RUNNING WITH TOE DRAG SWAG FOR A TD🤯🤯🤯
Daniel Jackson, ladies and gentlemen 👏
(🎥@_RyanFowler_) pic.twitter.com/WiLo1ehgcz
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 1, 2023
Crooms had seven catches for 63 yards while Spann-Ford caught five balls for 45 yards. They got the job done despite the running game making Minnesota’s offense one-dimensional most of the night.
Kaliakmanis certainly had down moments, including an ugly interception to end a great drive in the third quarter.
Athan Kaliakmanis is picked off and Nebraska will take over:
— Lincoln Heimbach (@LincHeimbachTSP) September 1, 2023
But before he was picked off, Kaliakmanis was throwing darts on the drive. His overall numbers, 24 of 44 for 197 yards, don’t jump off the page, but the young man nicknamed the “Greek Rifle” showed off his strong arm and an ability to deliver the ball into tight windows.
2. Running game really struggled
Gone are the days of Mohamed Ibrahim and the first look at Minnesota’s 2023 backfield wasn’t impressive as Sean Taylor (transfer from Western Michigan) led the ground game with just 10 carries for 41 yards. He was essentially a non factor until he found room for an 11-yard run to set up Dragan Kesich for the game-winning 47-yard field goal as time expired.
3. Third quarter disaster
With just under 11 minutes left in the third quarter, the Gophers forced the Cornhuskers to punt only to have a roughing the kicker penalty give the visitors an automatic first down. That was the fourth big problem less than five minutes into the quarter.
The penalty was part of an ugly start to the second half as Minnesota gave up a big kick return to start the quarter, followed by getting burned for a touchdown on a trick play, and then going three-and-out on offense to give the ball right back to Nebraska.
The Gophers were then driving behind some incredible passes from Kaliakmanis only to have the QB get picked off deep in Nebraska territory. Nebraska then went 80 yards on 13 plays and chewed up more than seven minutes before kicking a field goal for a 10-3 lead early in the fourth quarter.
4. Tyler Nubin is the real deal
Nubin has been projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and the star safety started his senior year with a bang, intercepting two passes including one late in the fourth quarter to thwart Nebraska’s attempt to run out the clock and win the game on a field goal or touchdown. That interception set the stage for Minnesota to win the game on the walk-off field goal by Kesich.
INTERCEPTED AGAIN 😤@T_Nubin27 now has TWO INTs in this game for @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/22E9MhhbAY
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 1, 2023
"Being able to respond and overcome obstacles, it's a really great start!"@JennyTaft is with @GopherFootball's @T_Nubin27 after his 2 INT night 😤 pic.twitter.com/TV7NFqHIgx
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 1, 2023
5. Minnesota’s defense looks legit
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi had a tough task designing a game plan to stop Nebraska dual-threat quarterback Jeff Sims and he did just that, limiting Sims to 11 of 19 passing for 114 yards and three interceptions.
Nubin had two of the three interceptions while cornerback Justin Walley was making plays from start to finish, including seven tackles, a pass break-up and the forced fumble with under five minutes to play that allowed Minnesota to march down the field and tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota CB Justin Walley has been all over the field in this: 7 tackles, pbu, ff, very active pic.twitter.com/LVSKJFlYuR
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) September 1, 2023
Nebraska managed just 295 yards, 181 yards on the ground.
The question Minnesota has to answer is if they have issues stopping the run or if Nebraska’s success running the ball was simply the byproduct of a very limited passing attack and Sims’s ability to run and scramble. Sims finished with 91 yards on 19 carries and did most of his damage in the first half.
Minnesota will get an easier test next Saturday against Eastern Michigan before going on the road to face the 16th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and prized NFL quarterback prospect Drake Maye. That game will certainly test the Gophers’ secondary.
