With two-and-a-half minutes left on the clock and ahead 20-13, the Gophers were faced with a decision.
A first down from Mo Ibrahim was wiped out following a review, putting the Gophers at 4th down and inches on their own 40.
Ibrahim, who had smashed the Nebraska defense throughout the second half, was confident he could get the six-inch gain necessary for a first down, which would have guaranteed the Gophers’ victory with Nebraska out of timeouts.
But PJ Fleck appeared set to send out the punting team, provoking an unhappy reaction from Ibrahim who tried to get his coach to change his mind.
Mo Ibrahim got PJ Fleck to pull the punt team because he wanted to go for 4th and a half yard, then PJ changed his mind and Mo was not happy pic.twitter.com/x2hpRM7UtA
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 5, 2022
For a second it looked as though Fleck had relented and would give Ibrahim the rock, only to stick with the original plan and punt.
It gave Nebraska the opportunity to march down the field in an attempt to tie things up. While they made it to mid-field, the Gophers’ defense managed to get the stops needed to hold on for victory.
Speaking after the game, Fleck acknowledged that Ibrahim “wanted to go for it” but that he felt Nebraska would “bring a whole lot of pressure.”
He felt it would be better to punt, “trust our defense,” and make Nebraska go 90 yards instead of 40.
Related: 5 things that stood out in the Gophers’ win over Nebraska
