After last week’s disappointing 33-28 home loss to Penn State, IU will try to record its second conference win Friday night against the Minnesota.
Minnesota owns a 3-4 record this season and is 0-4 in the Big Ten after dropping its last game to Nebraska.
Here are three things you need to know about IU’s next opponent.
1. Minnesota has lost its first four conference games this season.
After starting the season 3-0 with wins over New Mexico State, Fresno State and Miami (OH), Minnesota has fallen on hard times.
The Golden Gophers have looked like a completely different team since Big Ten play started, and they've lost each conference game by at least 16 points.
In its last game, Minnesota took on previously winless Nebraska on the road.
What looked like a chance for Minnesota's first conference win quickly turned into damage control, as Nebraska raced out to a 28-0 second-quarter lead and never looked back. A third-quarter comeback attempt was short-lived, and the Golden Gophers limped out of Lincoln, Nebraska, with a 53-28 loss.
Now, Minnesota is looking to recover after playing its worst game of the season. The Golden Gopher defense allowed Nebraska to roll up 659 yards of offense, including 383 yards on the ground. Nebraska had three players run for over 100 yards, which is promising for IU with freshman running back Stevie Scott coming off his best performance in conference play.
2. Starting quarterback Zack Annexstad may miss the game due to injury.
In last week’s game against Nebraska, freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad suffered an internal midsection injury during the first half. Annexstad was briefly hospitalized following the contest but was able to rejoin the team for the flight back to Minneapolis on Saturday night.
Annexstad is a Minnesota native who transferred to IMG Academy in Florida and was a three-star recruit coming out of high school. He's started the season strong, throwing for 1,277 yards and nine touchdowns through Minnesota’s first seven games.
In Annexstad’s absence, redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan started the second half and played fairly well. In his first extended playing time of the season, Morgan completed 11 of his 16 passes for 214 yards and rushed for a touchdown. Should Annexstad be unavailable for Saturday’s game, Morgan will make his first career start for the Golden Gophers.
3. Mohamed Ibrahim and Bryce Williams lead a dual-pronged rushing attack.
No matter who lines up at quarterback for Minnesota, the Golden Gophers have two solid running backs to lead the offense. Redshirt freshman Mohamed Ibrahim and freshman Bryce Williams are both off to solid starts, combining for 800 yards and four touchdowns.
After missing two games against Fresno State and Miami (Ohio), Ibrahim came back strong at the beginning of conference play. Despite only playing five games, Ibrahim is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and is Minnesota’s leading rusher with 464 yards and three touchdowns.
Williams, on the other hand, has seen a reduced workload since Ibrahim returned to the starting lineup. After a breakout game against Miami in which he ran for 141 yards, Williams hasn’t seen more than nine carries since. While Williams played well in Ibrahim’s absence, expect Ibrahim to get the lion’s share of the carries Friday night.
