Although Buffalo was not a formidable opponent, Lindsey got his feet wet and never left the game in doubt. On Saturday against Northwestern State, he’ll have an opportunity to embarrass a truly terrible team.

It’s not just an opportunity to be a coming out party for Lindsey either. Former Gophers star quarterback Tanner Morgan will be on the call.

Tanner Morgan makes broadcasting debut calling Minnesota Gophers

For five seasons Tanner Morgan operated as a quarterback for the Minnesota Gophers. His 2019 season was among the best in Gophers football history, and they finished 11-2 with an Outback Bowl win over Auburn and the 10th overall rank in the nation.

Morgan never sniffed the NFL despite some draft projections. Now he’ll be on the big screen as he calls his first game on Big Ten Network.

Excited to be on the call this Saturday! Kickoff at 11 AM CT on BTN. https://t.co/yXV29rTWip

— Tanner Morgan (@T_morg2) September 3, 2025

The game is a soft landing spot for Minnesota, and will be so for a few former Gophers as well. Not only is Morgan on the broadcast, but so too is women’s golf alum Emma Carpenter. The former quarterback is set to operate as the analyst alongside Jason Ross Jr. handling play-by-play duties. Carpenter will be their sideline reporter.

It will be a fun full-circle moment for Morgan. The Kentucky-native endeared himself to Minnesota, and he left school with 9,454 yards to his credit. He threw 65 touchdowns and his 151.0 passer rating is a program record.

Carpenter is an Illinois-native, but has stayed in the area to pursue broadcast opportunities. She shot a career-best 69 five different times, with the most recent at the Westbrook Invitational in 2024. He 7th-overall finish in that tournament the year prior was a career-high as well.

Related: New MN Gophers Freshman QB Looks Special

Minnesota has not previously played Northwestern State, but they are an FCS opponent, and a doormat at that. Despite beating Alcorn State in Week 1, the Demons are coming off an 0-12 record in 2024. They opened last season on the road against FBS opponent Tulsa and lost 62-28.

I asked @Coach_Fleck how impressive it was to see a young/new group of pass catchers fight the early adversity and show up down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/I4zqSSxCgd

— Ted (@tlschwerz) August 29, 2025

No line has been made public yet, but the only thing stopping a scoreboard rollover may be the aggressiveness of P.J. Fleck himself. Last week saw plenty of young players contribute, and more of that should be expected in this contest. Kickoff is set for 11 am on Saturday.

His backup? A 28-year-old Josh Dobbs, who had been on seven teams in two years, before arriving via trade three days earlier. Two drives into that game vs the Falcons, Hall suffered a concussion and Dobbs became the starter. We all know the rest of that story.

Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback struggles

Do you remember who Dobbs’ backup QB was that afternoon, though? It was Running back Cam Akers, the team’s emergency QB (played in college) at the time. But, he ruptured his Achilles in the second half, which left the Vikings’ extremely vulnerable at the most important position in sports.

Despite a grilling from both me and @markcraignfl, Kevin O'Connell refused to divulge the identity of the Vikings' emergency quarterback this week. (It had been Cam Akers before his Achilles injury.)

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 10, 2023

Related: How Much Will Kirk Cousins Cost; Could Vikings Get Discount?

Kevin O’Connell said that he did scramble up a backup backup backup backup plan for what he would have done at QB, had Josh Dobbs suffered an injury after Akers was hurt, but he was so embarrassed about it that he didn’t even feel comfortable revealing who it was.

Back then, Vikings brass was scrambling behind the scenes, turning over all possible options at QB. Even former Gopher, Tanner Morgan, has been on and off the practice squad. In fact, Tanner was practicing at TCO Performance Center as recently as last week.

It’s a backup QB party

But, those days of backup quarterback stress seem to be over. On Wednesday, the Vikings had four backup quarterbacks at practice, three of them very serviceable on Sundays, and one a borderline starter.

Today’s healthy QBs, L-R: Sean Mannion, Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. pic.twitter.com/F87iQc5dLQ

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 16, 2023

Ok, ok, I’m counting Josh Dobbs as the “borderline starter” backup. But technically, that’s a fair description. Until Kirk Cousins’ contract says otherwise, #8 is the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. Which, again, adds to how impressively deep this team suddenly looks at backup QB, a position they did not give a flying bleep about, until three weeks ago.

Jaren Hall looked really good in his 2nd and final drive as interim QB1 vs the Falcons. He was a full go yesterday, for the first time since suffering that concussion. Not only that, but the Vikings’ original backup plan, Nick Mullins, is in his 21-day practice window, after being on IR for four weeks. He too could return to the 53-man roster, as soon as Sunday.

Related: Josh Dobbs Conspiracy Theory Questions Whole ‘New Guy’ Act in Minnesota

Coming into the season, Mullins was seen as the best backup QB Minnesota has had since 2018, when Kirk arrived. Don’t get me wrong, Josh Dobbs staying healthy and continuing to play well is the Vikings’ best case scenario, going forward this season.

But, should something go wrong at QB, yet again, I think we can all feel pretty confident that the Vikings would be able to move forward, without missing a beat. If both Mullins and Hall are ready to go for Sunday, I’d expect Mullins to be Dobbs’ backup and Hall to be on the sidelines as the team’s emergency QB.

We’ve now had a pretty good sample size of what Kevin O’Connell can do with middling QB talent and, as pointed out throughout this blog, Minnesota’s roster is kind of stacked with middling QB talent right now.

The #Vikings are signing rookie QB Tanner Morgan to the practice squad, per source. A homecoming for the former University of Minnesota standout.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 5, 2023

Tanner Morgan played for the Minnnesota Gophers from 2018 to 2022 and ranks 2nd all time in both passing yards (9,469) and passing touchdowns (65), behind only Adam Weber (2007-2010) in both categories.

Morgan went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, but signed for and played with the Pittsburgh Steelers during training camp and preseason, before being cut. This will be Tanner’s second shot in the NFL. We’ll see if he can stick.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

With the 8th pick of the 2023 USFL College Draft, the Panthers select QB Tanner Morgan ???? #LetsHunt pic.twitter.com/I2SBEeO8Hb

— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) February 21, 2023

The USFL’s inaugural season played every game at Protective Stadium, in Birmingham, AL. In 2023, the Panthers will play their home games at Ford Field, in Detroit; the same field used by the Detroit Lions of the NFL. The 2023 USFL season begins on April 15 and games will be televised on FOX and NBC. The Panthers play their first game Sunday, April 16 on NBC vs the Houston Gamblers.

Tanner Morgan + Michigan Panthers

Michigan finished 7th (of 8) in the USFL’s first season. Morgan should have every opportunity to earn the starting job. Shea Patterson, who played his college football at the University of Michigan, held that role last season, after being drafted #1 overall in the league’s first collegiate draft.

Things didn’t work out between Patterson and the Panthers and he was released 7 weeks into the season. The Panthers currently have two QB’s listed on their roster. Those quarterbacks are Eric Barriere (25-y/o – Eastern Washington) and Josh Love (26 y/o – San Jose State). He’d better catch up fast, though.

Morgan is from Kentucky but he did plan on living in Michigan, after committing to PJ Fleck’s Western Michigan Broncos, while in High School. In fact, Tanner had his bags packed and was getting ready to leave for Kalamazoo back in December 2016, until Fleck called him and offered a chance to move with him to Minnesota; an offer he immediately accepted.

Roller Coaster Career in Minnesota

Tanner had plenty of highs while in Minnesota, like a historic 2019 campaign (see below). But, he had plenty of down moments, as well, and he struggled to find any success without Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman to throw to.

Morgan holds all sorts of passing records at the University of Minnesota, including:

• Season Passing Yards: 3,253 (2019)
• Season Touchdown Passes: 30 (2019)
• Season Completion Percentage: 66.9% // 107-of-160 (2022)
• Season Passing Yards Per Game: 250.2 (2019)
• Season Touchdown-Interception Ratio: 4.28 // 30 TDs, 7 INTs (2019)
• Season Pass Efficiency Rating: 178.7 (2019)
• Season Passing Yards in a Bowl Game: 278 (2019 Outback Bowl)
• Consecutive Games with a Touchdown Pass: 18 (12/26/18 – 11/13/20)
• Consecutive Completions: 16 (10/16/21 vs. Nebraska)
• Career Passing Efficiency Rating: 151.0
• Career Completion Percentage: 62.2% // 661-of-1,063
• Career games won as starting quarterback: 33 (of 47 career starts)

The USFL season ends in July. Because Morgan was left off of the NFL combine roster, this is a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his ability to be a legitimate backup option in the National Football League.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Last week, six former Gophers participated in the three recognized NFL prospect bowls. On Wednesday, it was announced that four of those U of M football standouts — (C) John Michael Schmitz, (CB) Terell Smith, (S) Jordan Howden and (RB) Mohamed Ibrahim — received invites to the upcoming draft combine (Feb. 28 – Mar. 6).

Note: Four #Gophers have been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Feb. 28-March 6: center John Michael Schmitz, cornerback Terell Smith, safety Jordan Howden and tailback Mo Ibrahim.

— Andy Greder (@andygreder) February 8, 2023

John Michael Schmitz and Mohamed Ibrahim vs NFL Combine

John Michael Schmitz can continue to separate himself from the rest of the center class with a good combine. It could be the difference between being a late-1st/early-2nd round pick or falling into the 3rd. But knowing what he did at the Senior Bowl, I wouldn’t expect a regression in Indianapolis.

It’ll be interesting to see where Mohamed Ibrahim ranks in many of the drills he’ll be run through, compared to other running back prospects. Everyone knows what he’s done as a Gopher and the film speaks for himself.

What draft experts believe will hold Mo back, come April, are (a) his age [almost 25] and (b) his athletic measurables. If Mo can change some minds by running faster, jumping higher and moving quicker than scouts expect, he could jump from a late-round/undrafted type prospect, up to an early day-3 guy.

Minnesota 2023 RB Mohamed Ibrahim has come back from an Achilles tear like few running backs in recent memory.

Ibrahim ranks 5th in FBS with 1,261 rushing yards, and 4th in fantasy points with an average of 27.2 FPPG in 2022.

Here are 12 of his best runs against Northwestern: pic.twitter.com/lgtRo41EIA

— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) November 16, 2022

Jordan Howden and Terell Smith vs NFL Combine

Jordan Howden and Terell Smith are currently projected as late-round/undrafted prospects. They too could see their stocks rise significantly with good showings at the combine. Terell Smith, who was one of the biggest standouts at the East/West Shrine Bowl, is an athletic specimen so he’s a guy to watch when the pads come off and underwear goes on.

Omitted from the roster in Indianapolis, out of those who received invites to one of either the NFLPA, Shrine or Senior Bowls last week, were (QB) Tanner Morgan and (EDGE) Thomas Rush. Both guys had their moments last week but couldn’t make the NFL Combine cut.

Tanner Morgan and Thomas Rush Miss Combine Cut

At the East/West Shrine Bowl, Morgan seemed to throw the ball well during the week but went just 3 of 7 for 33 yards and 1 interception on game day. Rush was the only Gopher representative at the NFLPA Bowl. He stood out at practice and grabbed two sacks in the game.

Missing out on the combine doesn’t mean Morgan and Rush won’t make an NFL roster, or practice squad, come fall. As mentioned before, their route just became a little more difficult.

That won’t be a problem for either guy, though. When you’re baptized and raised in PJ Fleck’s Row The Boat culture, you have your oar ready for all waters. It wouldn’t surprise me to see all six of these guys making money in The League next season.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota vs Iowa football game will take place on Saturday for the 116th time, a rivalry that the Gophers have mostly dominated (62-51-2) throughout history. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case of late and Minnesota is now in jeopardy of falling to .500 (43-42-2) in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.

PJ Fleck is 0-5 vs the Iowa Hawkeyes. It’s the only Big Ten West team that PJ has yet to defeat in his University of Minnesota head coaching tenure. And this inability to get over the Kirk Ference hump has cost the Gophers TWO trips to the Big Ten title game (2019, 2021).

Tanner Morgan + PJ Fleck Bad vs Iowa

Tanner Morgan’s 1st half collapse in 2019 is the missed opportunity most fans remember. But it was last season at Kinnick Stadium where PJ Fleck’s ‘don’t beat yourself’ attitude combined with a bad Tanner Morgan cost the Gophers a program-changing victory and a Big Ten West championship.

Tanner Morgan is giving Iowa, er, Minnesota, some great quarterbacking so far today.

— Mike Hlas (@Hlas) November 27, 2021

Minnesota dominated time of possession (40:19 to 19:41) and won the turnover battle (1 to 0). That’s exactly how PJ likes to win games. But that game didn’t end in a victory. It ended in a 27-22 defeat. Why? Because Tanner Morgan was terrible and his refusal to throw the ball downfield crushed the Gophers that night.

It wasn’t as easy to see it on the television broadcast but I was lucky enough to watch from the Kinnick Stadium press box, where it was easy to see the multitude of open wide receivers downfield. Tanner just refused to throw the ball deep until late in the 4th quarter, when he hit a WIDE OPEN Chris Autman-Bell for a touchdown.

This was Morgan’s only “Big Time Throw” of the night, according to PFF. But believe me, receivers were running open downfield for the entire contest, especially in the 2nd half.

CHRIS AUTMAN-BELL ????????@GopherFootball with a BIG time play ???? pic.twitter.com/GxVfvia1dq

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 13, 2021

PJ is a Large Part of the Problem

But Tanner’s refusal to chuck the football, which has been a problem throughout his career, rarely lands on his shoulders, alone. PJ Fleck is a huge part of the problem, whenever it comes to the Gophers’ deep shot hesitancy, especially vs Iowa.

The Hawkeyes are notorious for letting opponents beat themselves. They win a lot of games by taking advantage of mistakes and turnovers. And Fleck is deathly afraid of falling into that trap. In fact, he has been talking about exactly that all week long, even mentioning a fly trap plant.

“Iowa knows who they are and they’re very good defensively. They’re efficient on offense, they play field position, they put you in bad positions and they make you make mistakes because they don’t make mistakes.” — PJ Fleck (92Noon w/Paul Allen – KFAN)

“…that’s how they beat you too. They’re kinda like one of those plant traps. They just stay open, open, open and eventually the bug can’t help itself. It goes in and gets the pollen and then poof, it swallows you up! And that’s how they win a ton of games.” — PJ Fleck (Gopher Football Weekly – KFAN)

Enter Athan Kaliakmanis

Saturday is Senior Day at Huntington Bank Stadium but the expectation is that Athan Kaliakmanis will be the starter vs Iowa. It’s believed that Tanner Morgan is dealing with multiple concussions over his last few games, which would mean his return this season is unlikely.

On the field this weekend, Kaliakmanis might be the better QB to have under center. It’s true, he played poorly last week in the win vs Northwestern. Still, he has the skill and mindset to exploit how the Hawkeyes have beaten Tanner Morgan, since he took over as the Gophers starter.

Athan can and will run, something that Iowa knew Tanner wouldn’t do. But even more importantly, if the Hawkeye defense allows open receivers down the field, Kaliakmanis will throw it to them. AK8 has a gunslinger mentality and won’t be afraid to make Iowa pay for stacking the box and ignoring deep receivers.

#Gophers backup QB Athan Kaliakmanis comes in & gives the team a little juice.
He makes this playaction roll out pass to a crossing WR look effortless. He has the athleticism and arm talent to be a long term big time QB if utilized properly. pic.twitter.com/fJGnI0rfPs

— Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) November 5, 2022

What a throw by Athan Kaliakmanis pic.twitter.com/luN1bdg7IM

— Joe Broback (@joebroback) October 23, 2022

Let Athan Throw

As long as PJ Fleck allows Athan to shoot his shots, Minnesota should win this game. Iowa’s defense is great but their offense is historically bad. Even if the redshirt freshman QB makes some mistakes, it’s unlikely the Hawkeye offense makes the Gophers pay for them.

So instead of playing sphincter-tight football, PJ and Co needs to have some fun on Saturday. Open shit up, let Athan toss the ball around a little bit. Because if this Minnesota team comes out afraid to lose to Iowa (again), they’ll probably lose (again).

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Entering Saturday’s afternoon matchup vs the (1-8) Northwestern Wildcats, the biggest questions of the week surround who will play quarterback for the Gophers. Will PJ pass the QB torch to his highly-touted 2021 recruit? Or, will he go back to what he’s used to and ride Tanner Morgan out for the final few games of his college career?

Athan Kaliakmanis Expected to Start

Well according to Ryan Burns (GopherIllustrated.com), Fleck won’t have to make that decision. That’s because the expected ailment for Morgan is another concussion, which would be his 2nd in three weeks.

If true, it’d be impossible for him to clear protocol in time to play in Evanston (03:25 mark — transcribed below). On Mackey and Judd, Thursday, Darren Wolfson (KSTP, SKOR North) reported essentially the same thing. That Kaliakmanis will be the guy.

“From what I’ve heard from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday practice, we are going to be operating this episode as if Athan Kaliakmanis is starting this game… …Fleck has not confirmed it’s a concussion. He continues to say it’s an upper-body injury. I will say this: I’d be absolutely gobsmacked if it’s not a concussion and that would be his second concussion in three weeks. So, different parts of the [concussion] protocol, then. I’m just hoping he’s ok, at this point. But I think everybody is going to get their wish, to see their favorite player, which is the backup quarterback.”

Ryan Burns (GopherIllustrated.com) – Gopher Gridiron Podcast

Another concussion for Tanner Morgan would be a scary prospect, especially given his struggles with head injuries in the past. But as Burns pointed out, the fanbase was ready to see Athan Kaliakmanis take the helm as Minnesota Gophers starting QB.

Injury or not, it’s Athan’s time

He proved vs Rutgers that he is ready and clearly looked like the better player, after Morgan struggled to move the offense at all in the first half. This isn’t the way we wanted to see the torch passed. But oftentimes in football, injury is what forces a coach’s hand.

It’ll be good to get Athan another start under his belt, before the the Gophers face Iowa and Wisconsin to close the season. Remember, a 10-win season is still a possibility, if the Gophers can find a way to win out.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

After two quarters, the Huskers led 10-0 and the Gophers offense had totaled just 31 yards. But then, Tanner Morgan exited the game with an upper-body injury. So, highly-touted redshirt freshman QB, Athan Kaliakmanis, buckled his chin strap and took over the white and maroon huddle.

And that’s when everything changed.

The Athan Kaliakmanis Comeback

Suddenly, the Minnesota Gophers offense looked like a hot knife slicing and dicing through a buttery Nebraska defense. Kaliakmanis displayed a confidence and aggressiveness that we’ve never seen a QB play with under PJ Fleck. I mean, Tanner Morgan would cut off his right arm if he risked a cross-body throw like this one…

#Gophers backup QB Athan Kaliakmanis comes in & gives the team a little juice.
He makes this playaction roll out pass to a crossing WR look effortless. He has the athleticism and arm talent to be a long term big time QB if utilized properly. pic.twitter.com/fJGnI0rfPs

— Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) November 5, 2022

Athan threw deep and fired rockets into tight intermediate windows that his predecessor would never dream of attempting. His presence overflowed into the run game, too. Holes that didn’t exist for Mo Ibrahim in the first half were parting like the Red Sea in the second.

Not only did the Husker defense have to retreat out of the box, after Athan’s repeated attempts to blow up their single-high coverages with shots down the field, but they had to account for his running ability in the RPO game.

After stumbling for 31 total yards, 4 first downs and 0 points in the first half, with Tanner Morgan at the helm, the Minnesota offense cruised for 217 yards, 11 first downs and 13 points in the 3rd quarter, alone.

Time to pass the torch

The 6-3 Gophers still have a lot of questions but Saturday’s second half comeback made one thing clear. Athan Kaliakmanis is the best quarterback on his football team.

Most of Minnesota’s offensive struggles this season fall on inconsistent offensive line play and bad wide receivers. That’s why PFF still has Tanner Morgan as one of their highest graded QB’s in the country. But this team needs more than a mistake-free game manager.

When Kaliakmanis entered the game yesterday his combination of talent and confidence immediately lifted those around him. Everyone felt it, including his teammates. PJ Fleck needs to put his affinity for Tanner Morgan aside and do the right thing. It’s time to pass the starting QB torch.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

A once-vaunted Gopher defense has struggled to find its footing vs worthy offensive opponents like Illinois and Penn State. But the biggest issues have come on offense, where Minnesota has struggled to move the ball through the air vs Big Ten teams not named Michigan State.

Counting conference games only, the Gophers rank 9th in the Big Ten in scoring, 8th in touchdowns and 8th in average YPG. The offensive struggles do not originate in the run game, however, where Mo Ibrahim & Co rank 4th in average rush YPG and TDs.

Gophers’ passing attack doesn’t attack.

The obvious problem with Minnesota’s offense is in the pass game. Through 5 conference contests so far this season, Tanner Morgan & Co rank 13th in the Big Ten for average pass yards per game (172.0) and 12th in touchdowns (4).

The #Gophers have 88 yards of total offense since their two scoring drives.

They seem very content with their 14-0 lead.

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) October 29, 2022

You read that right, the Gophers have played more conference games this season than they have thrown passing touchdowns. Those are the kind of numbers that drag down, not just an entire offense, but an entire program.

Don’t tell that to Pro Football Focus, though. Because, for whatever reason, PFF is bullish on the Minnesota Gophers in all facets, grading them a 94.9 overall. That’s good enough for the 3rd best grade in the entire country, behind only Ohio State and Michigan.

Minnesota’s defensive grade at PFF, a 90.2, is impressive. But the their overall grade is actually buoyed by its offense, which grades out at an incredible 94.0, also good for 3rd-best in the country. That offensive grade includes an 86.1 passing grade. The same air attack that ranks 13th (of 15) in the Big Ten passing yards per game, has an 86.1 PFF passing grade. How is that even possible?

PFF Loves Tanner Morgan

Well, it starts with Pro Football Focus’ apparent affinity for starting quarterback, Tanner Morgan, who has started four of the five conference games the maroon and gold have played this season. His overall offensive PFF grade so far this season? A 91.3; the best of his long career and good for 6th-best in the country among QBs.

I do not know exactly how PFF puts their quarterback grades together but Tanner Morgan, after seven games played this season, is ranked 11th in the Big Ten in passing yards per game. Again, PFF is portraying an entirely different Minnesota football team, especially through the air, than what we have seen with our own eyes, or even what the statistics and results show.

Wide Receiver struggle

Where everyone agrees the Gophers struggle, however, is at wide receiver. Clay Geary, who’s probably the 4th receiver on the depth chart, is the only active WR who grades out on PFF higher than a 67 overall.

This makes sense (finally) because it’s well known how poorly the receivers have played since Chris Autman-Bell went down with an injury. It’s been so bad that PJ Fleck has all but given up on stretching the field with deep passes.

Can you blame him? Minnesota’s best deep threat, Michael Brown-Stephens, has 7 receptions when targeted on deep routes this season. The defense has 5 interceptions in those situations.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Under Ciarrocca in 2019, Tanner set all of the major single season passing records at the University of Minnesota. Without him in 2020 and 2021, Morgan dissolved into one of the worst quarterbacks in the Big Ten. In a conference with Spencer Petras, Graham Mertz and Noah Vedral that’s saying something.

Tanner Morgan 6.0

The 2022 Gophers weren’t even asking for 2019 Tanner Morgan to reappear. They just needed him to revert back toward that direction. Most of the fanbase would’ve happily settled for QB competence this season. Instead, we’ve gotten the best version of Tanner that we’ve ever seen. Which, in turn, means some of the best quarterback play Dinkytown has ever seen.

He’s confident, poised and playing fast. Reads are decisive and on time. Accuracy through the roof. Really, the 6th-year senior is an entirely different player, right now.

Morgan has the Minnesota Gophers offense humming, as the most efficient in all of college football and his early numbers are even better than what he set records with three years ago. Per Fangraphs, Morgan is 4th in the country in QB Rating, 2nd in completion % and 3rd in yards per pass thrown. Sure, it’s early and the competition hasn’t been fierce. But to this point in 2019, the schedule had the same story.

Only difference, Tanner wasn’t nearly as good back then and the Gophers barely squeaked out wins vs SDSU, Fresno State, Georgia Southern and Purdue; instead of bulldozing through NMSU, Western Illinois, Colorado and Michigan State, like they have through four games this season.

Sparty Learns the Hard Way

On Saturday, Michigan State found that out the hard way. The Spartans entered last weekend’s contest thinking they were up facing Mike Sanford’s Minnesota Gophers’ offense. An offense that couldn’t pass the ball effectively, no matter the circumstances.

MSU’s defense was intent on making Morgan beat them. So, he did, going 23/26 for 268 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, earning himself Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Final score: 34-7, Gophers.

Tanner showed out on Saturday and people took notice. pic.twitter.com/KT5ddyYQuk

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) September 26, 2022

Purdue Up Next

Now, the undefeated (4-0) Gophers will welcome the Purdue Boilermakers to Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday (11 AM). And there isn’t a team in the Big Ten (outside of maybe Nebraska) who has struggled more against the Minnesota coaching threesome of PJ Fleck, Joe Rossi and Kirk Ciarrocca, than the Boilermakers.

Will Jeff Brohm & Co key in on stopping Mohamed Ibrahim, too? Or, has Tanner Morgan scared them enough to pull safeties out of the box and/or hesitate against the run, because of possible play-action? Unlike the previous two seasons, there’s a thin margin for error defending both the run and pass vs the Minnesota offense.

And that’s thanks to Tanner Morgan + Kirk Ciarrocca, not just resurrecting the Minnesota Gophers passing attack, but elevating it to heights we’ve never seen in this program’s history.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan