Mohamed Ibrahim’s final season with the Golden Gophers will not end with an award for being the nation’s top running back.
The Doak Walker Award finalists were announced Tuesday and Ibrahim did not make the final cut. The three finalists are Chase Brown of Illinois, Blake Corum of Michigan and Bijan Robinson of Texas. Ibrahim was one of ten semifinalists.
Ibrahim is fourth in the nation with 1,594 rushing yards and his 19 rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in the country. Ibrahim has racked up those totals on 304 carries in 11 games.
Here’s what Brown, Corum and Robinson have done.
- Brown: 1,643 yards and 10 touchdowns on 328 carries in 12 games
- Corum: 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns on 247 carries in 12 games
- Robinson: 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns on 258 carries in 12 games
So, yes, Ibrahim has posted his totals in one fewer game, but he’s had more 57 more carries than Corum and 46 more than Robinson.
What Ibrahim didn’t have that the other finalists had was a passing game to alleviate the pressure and balance the offense. Minnesota’s passing offense ranks 114th in the nation, averaging just 186 yards through the air per game. Texas ranked 62nd, Michigan 91st and Illinois 98th.
Ibrahim also had to run against four of the top 15 rush defenses in the country: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Penn State.
Snubbed? Probably not. Disappointing? Sure.
