In preparation for Colorado's Saturday morning game vs. Minnesota, Rivals' own Sean Williams of The Gopher Report provides an inside look at the matchup and what CU can expect both offensively and defensively.
Sean Williams is a recruiting analyst and publisher for Rivals covering Minnesota, Ohio State, Missouri, Vanderbilt and others.
Q: It should go without saying that the season-ending injury to star tailback Mohamed Ibrahim comes as totally devastating to this Minnesota offense. What is the identity of that unit without Ibrahim, is the run game still formidable, and overall, how has the Gophers' offense looked two games into the season?
Sean Williams: With Minnesota, the run game will always be the most important part of their game plan. They want to be balanced and they want to control the clock.
Trey Potts put up Mohamed Ibrahim-type numbers against Miami (Oh.) with 178 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries.
Now, we were expecting to see more carries dispersed among the likes of Cam Wiley and Bryce Williams, but Minnesota decided to ride out the hot hand of Potts and that helped them secure a win against a feisty Redhawks team.
So, through one game without Ibrahim, the running game appears to be fine. But, they will face a tougher test this week against the Buffaloes defense.
Minnesota's passing game hasn't been dynamic so far this season. They had their moments against Ohio State where Texas A&M transfer Dylan Wright emerged as a go-to threat.
Against Miami (Oh.), Minnesota abandoned the passing game after going 0-for-6 in the third quarter and relied on the running game the rest of the way to squeak out a win. Receivers like Wright and Dylan Jackson have emerged as guys that can make plays.
However, Minnesota's biggest playmaker at receiver, Chris Autman-Bell, has been out the first two games after suffering an ankle injury in fall camp. He remains questionable, so it's possible he could return this weekend.
He's a guy the Gophers desperately need to enhance their passing attack moving forward this season.
Q: Minnesota led Ohio State at halftime in week one only to allow 35 second half points to the Buckeyes in an eventual 45-31 loss. Last week, the Gophers allowed 23 second half points to Miami (Oh.), hanging on to win the game by five points. How do you evaluate this team two weeks in and are the lapses in the second half concerning at this point in time?
SW: It's absolutely concerning, especially against a team like Miami (Oh.) that Minnesota couldn't put away offensively because of their inability to convert third downs through the air.
Defensively, the Redhawks' wide receivers were getting open for big plays and keeping them close.
With Ohio State, the Buckeyes just had too many athletes offensively for the Gophers defense to contain.
However, that does highlight one of Minnesota's biggest struggles defensively which has been their coverage in the secondary.
Q: Offensively and defensively, which position groups are among the strongest and weakest links on the chain for Minnesota, in your opinion?
SW: Offensively, Minnesota's offensive line is their strongest position, with their whole core returning and they have eight guys they can rotate along the line that have starting experience under their belt.
While Mohamed Ibrahim is done for the season at running back, Trey Potts appears to be more than capable of filling his shoes but it will be interesting to see if guys like Cam Wiley and Bryce Williams can step up and help out.
At quarterback, you have an experienced veteran in Tanner Morgan who hasn't put up spectacular numbers the past two seasons, but can be counted on as a game-manager and overall leader.
Wide receiver is still a work in progress and a lot of that has to do with the absence of Chris Autman-Bell so far. Without Autman-Bell, this group is really young and inexperienced and that showed against Miami (Oh.).
Defensively overall has been a struggle. While the secondary has had issues with giving up big plays in the first two games, they have created a couple of interceptions in key spots.
Minnesota's defensive line added more depth and experience through the transfer portal in Nyles Pinckney (Clemson) and Val Martin (NC State), but so far that hasn't translated into an improved pass rush.
Although, they have been decent against the run. At linebacker, they have veteran Mariano Sori-Marin, who led the team in tackles in both games so far this season.
They also added FCS All-American transfer Jack Gibbens to the fold in the offseason, who struggled a bit against Ohio State but bounced back last week against Miami (Oh.) with eight tackles.
Q: Redshirt senior Tanner Morgan is already a record holder in multiple regards for Minnesota. What has he shown you thus far into 2021 and what do you think this Gophers team is capable of within the Big Ten and in general this year?
SW: Morgan was good against Ohio State, going 14-of-25 for 225 yards and a score. However, regressed against Miami (Oh.) in terms of his accuracy, going just 8-of-17 for 112 yards.
That included an abysmal second half where he went 0-of-6 in the third quarter that forced Minnesota to abandon the passing game altogether the rest of the way.
Now, there were some inaccurate throws in that quarter for sure and there were also a couple of drops from the young receivers.
In terms of Big Ten play, Minnesota has some work to do if they want to contend in the Big Ten.
Offensively, its passing game needs to become more efficient and the young receivers on the roster need to improve in a hurry.
Defensively, the Gophers need to find ways to create some kind of pressure up front and not give up big plays in the secondary.
Before the season, I predicted Minnesota would go 7-5 on the season and finish third in the Big Ten West Division.
Q: How's this game shaking down Saturday? Who wins and what's your score prediction?
SW: This will be Minnesota's first road game of the season and playing in elevation is definitely something they are planning for.
The most interesting matchup for me is seeing if the Gophers can establish their run game against a Colorado defense that has been very stingy so far this season.
If Minnesota has to rely on their passing game, I don't see them walking out with a win.
I'll say the Buffs pull this one off by a final score of 23-21.
