Behind Trey Potts' big day, Gophers hold off Miami (Ohio) 31-26

When the Gophers found out that Mohamed Ibrahim, their workhorse running back and the heartbeat of their offense, would be lost for the season to a lower leg injury, coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. knew the job of replacing the All-America rusher might not fall to only one person.

Turns out, it took a couple of players from the running back group who came through in a couple of different ways to turn back a second-half rally by Miami (Ohio) and send the Gophers to a 31-26 victory in front of 43,372 on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.

SophomoreTrey Potts rushed 34 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns, while true freshman Mar'Keise "Bucky'' Irving had a long kickoff return to reignite a Minnesota offense that had sputtered to only 15 yards in the third quarter against an 18½-point underdog.

"What I saw at the end was grit, it was courage, it was togetherness, and they found a way,'' Fleck said. "… They found a way to make plays, and I mean everybody.''

The biggest plays late in the game came first from Irving, then Potts.

After Miami (0-2) trimmed a 21-3 halftime deficit to 21-20 early in the fourth quarter on Blake Gabbert's 23-yard TD pass to Jack Sorenson, the Gophers (1-1) were hanging on for dear life.

Enter Irving, who on the ensuing kickoff found a seam, cut outside and took it 41 yards to the Minnesota 47.

"He is electric,'' Fleck said of Irving. "That got the whole thing going.''

Potts kept it going by reeling off rushes of 17, 7, 4, 4 and the final 21 yards for a touchdown that put the Gophers ahead 28-20 with 9:53 left in the fourth quarter.

"Coach Fleck and Coach [Kenni] Burns told me this drive was pivotal and they were going to give me a lot of responsibility on that drive,'' Potts said. "I just took it play by play.''

BOXSCORE: Gophers 31, Miami 26

The defense got in on the act, too, with Tyler Nubin intercepting a Gabbert pass on the ensuing possession and returning it 18 yards to the RedHawks' 32. That set up Matthew Trickett's 50-yard field goal, which stretched the lead to 31-20. It was the first successful kick of 50 or more yards for the Gophers in three years and the first for Trickett, a graduate transfer from Kent State.

Trickett's thoughts before the kick: "God's got me. Trust my training, trust the guys around me, trust the guys up front not letting anyone through.''

Miami had one last surge, and Gabbert's 33-yard TD pass to Mac Hippenhammer with 3:43 left cut the Gophers' lead to 31-26. The two-point attempt failed, leaving the lead at five points instead of three. On that drive, Gophers defensive tackle Rashad Cheney Jr. hit Gabbert late on a fourth-and-10 incomplete pass, giving the RedHawks new life with the 15-yard penalty. "That's not who we are,'' Fleck said. "I'll address that.''

With that five-point lead and 3:43 left, the Gophers had some work to do to salt the game away. Fleck and Sanford again called on Potts, who did his best impression of Ibrahim by rushing twice for 10 yards to gain a first down, then carrying for 3, 3, and 11 for another first down, enabling Morgan to go into Victory Formation for a trio of kneel-downs.

"It's all about our identity: being able to go win the game on offense, being able to run the ball physically and get a couple first downs to win the game,'' said Morgan, who completed eight of 17 passes for 112 yards and two first-half TDs but was 0-for-6 after intermission.

Though the manner in which the Gophers won – nearly frittering away an 18-point lead – might not be aesthetically pleasing to the fan base, Fleck embraced the result.