The Minnesota Golden Gophers held off a second-half rally to defeat the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks 31-26 on Saturday afternoon.
The Gophers came into Saturday’s game wondering how they would replace Mohammed Ibrahim, who suffered a season-ending injury against Ohio State. With their star running back out, Trey Potts was up for the challenge.
The redshirt sophomore ran for a career-high 178 yards on the afternoon including a first-quarter touchdown that put Minnesota on the board.
He wears No. 3. His name is Trey.
Trey Potts, one of Mo Ibrahim's replacements, just put @GopherFootball on the board. pic.twitter.com/puVRgYH9P2
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2021
With the Gophers ahead early, it was Tanner Morgan’s time to contribute. The senior’s first score of the day extended the Gophers’ lead in the second quarter, finding freshman receiver Dylan Wright for a 25-yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 14-3 advantage.
Not even two games in, this much is true:@GopherFootball has a nice new weapon in Texas A&M transfer @dylanwright_4. pic.twitter.com/04SEbwA4El
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2021
Morgan’s second score, a six-yard pass to Damien Jackson, sent Minnesota into halftime with a 21-3 lead. But the Redhawks made it a game with a dominant third quarter. After opening the second half with a touchdown, the Redhawks made it a one-point game with Brett Gabbert’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Jack Sorenson.
With the game in question, the Gophers went back to Potts, who picked up his second score of the day on a 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Trey Potts continues to do work for @GopherFootball. đź’Ş pic.twitter.com/YyYmlqnhEQ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2021
The Gophers made it a two-possession game with a 50-yard field goal from Dragan Keisch but the Redhawks didn’t go away. After their drive was extended on a fourth-down roughing the passer penalty, Gabbert connected with Mac Hippenhammer for a 33-yard touchdown.
The Redhawks were stuffed on a two-point conversion attempt and Potts was able to run out the clock to give Minnesota its first win of the season.
The Gophers (1-1, 0-1 Big Ten) will go on the road next Saturday when they face the Colorado Buffaloes.
