Tanner Morgan, Minnesota Football News: Draft Scout Player News

09/24/22 - QB Tanner Morgan, rSr/2023, Minnesota

Tanner Morgan threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns and Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 103 yards and a score to lead Minnesota to a 34-7 rout over struggling Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both schools. The Gophers (4-0) are off to their best start since they began the 2019 season 9-0. Minnesota dominated Michigan State (2-2) on both sides of the ball, outgaining the Spartans on offense 508-240 while also grabbing two interceptions and a fumble. "I've got to take my hat off to our players," said Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. "They just played incredibly hard. I couldn't be more proud of them right now in this moment." Despite missing star receiver Chris Autman-Bell, who is out for the season following a leg injury last week, the Gophers' offense was dominant.

Minnesota did not punt, converted 10 of 12 third-down attempts, had possession of the ball for 42:30 and Morgan hit 10 different receivers. "I've been saying it for a long time now that we have a lot of guys that can go make plays for us," Morgan said. "We saw that today - a lot of guys that were involved in the game plan and made plays. It makes my job really easy." Michigan State appeared ready to rally from a 17-point deficit at the start of the second half by driving to the Minnesota 5-yard line but Thomas Rush punched the ball free from quarterback Payton Thorne and Justin Walley made the recovery. "Every week we emphasize turnovers," Walley said. "Today we had three. That's the amount we should get every week or strive to get every week." The Spartans avoided the shutout when backup quarterback Noah Kim tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard with 17 seconds left. The Gophers scored on their first three possessions to go up 17-0. Morgan, who completed 23 of 26 passes for 268 yards, capped off the next drive when he hit Daniel Jackson with a 23-yard touchdown pass. Matthew Trickett followed with a 26-yard field goal. - Minnesota/AP College Football

rSr/2023