Nebraska’s Wan’Dale Robinson carries the ball while trying to avoid Minnesota’s Michael Dixon and James Gordon IV in the second quarter Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
These four stats were talking points during the week leading up to Minnesota-Nebraska. How did the Huskers fare in those categories Saturday?
Slowing down Ibrahim
Entering Saturday: Mohamed Ibrahim, the Big Ten’s top running back, averaged more than 163 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry. With WR Rashod Bateman opting out, Ibrahim became a bigger focal point of the Gopher offense.
Saturday: The 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior broke loose for a 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but was held in check — quite possibly because he got nicked up on his TD run — after that. That was until the final drive. When Nebraska needed a stop to get the ball back down seven, it couldn’t stop Ibrahim, who had runs of 7, 5, 31, 2, 2 and 12 yards on the game-sealing drive. Ibrahim finished with 108 yards on 20 carries behind a backup offensive line.
Getting Mills going
Entering Saturday: NU senior running back Dedrick Mills returned to action last week against Purdue and finished with 60 yards on 16 carries. Getting Mills going would take pressure off the legs of QBs Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey.
Saturday: Mills finished with 50 yards on 12 carries, and take away a 16-yard run, he had 34 yards on 11 carries (3.1 yards per carry). Though Nebraska had success on the ground (5.5 ypc), it never got Mills going, though it’s hard to say how healthy the senior is. For the sixth time this season, a quarterback led the Huskers in rushing. Martinez had 96 yards and a touchdown on 15 totes.
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