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Gophers star running back Mohamed Ibrahim injured in loss

andy greder, pioneer press, st. paul, minn.
·3 min read

Sep. 3—The Gophers star running back Mo Ibrahim was making a big impression on national TV Thursday night.

The reigning Big Ten running back of the year had rushed 30 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State in the season opener, but he went down in what appeared to be a serious lower-left leg injury in the 45-31 loss. He stayed in the injury tent for roughly 15 minutes and left for the locker room wearing a protective boot.

Dr. David Chao, who runs the @ProFootballDoc account on Twitter, said Ibrahim appeared to suffer a "clear" left Achilles tendon rupture. "Will be OK in long run, but not this season," he tweeted. "Fairly classic. Season over and surgery."

GOPHERS SELLOUT

The Gophers welcomed back the main ingredients that make college football unique: diehard fans, a big student section, the marching band and the spirit squad on Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, the U announced a sellout crowd at 50,805 for the season opener against Ohio State. But long lines to get in kept it from a full house at kickoff against the Buckeyes.

With no fans allowed in the stands due to the pandemic a year ago, Thursday's return continues a stretch of three games in front of full houses at the U. At the end of 2019, Minnesota had sellouts of 51,883 in the upset of Penn State and 53,756 for the loss to Wisconsin.

The Gophers had been trending toward a sellout for weeks and needed to sell a "significant amount" of tickets returned by Ohio State earlier this week.

Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle said last week they have added more than 5,000 new season tickets and have doubled the amount of student tickets.

The secondary-ticket marketplace TickPick said the average price to get into the stadium was $226, with a get-in price of $91. The average price is the third-most expensive ticket in college football this weekend, TickPick said. The get-in price is the most expensive home ticket on record, they said.

Thursday's game was the first under the new name, which changed from TCF Bank Stadium this summer. The field has Huntington Bank logos on each 25-yard line and above the big video board in the open-end of the stadium.

With the pandemic continuing, the U does not require masks in seats at the stadium, but officials want to have them worn in the inside areas, such as restrooms.

AUTMAN-BELL OUT

Top Gophers receiver Chris Autman-Bell was out due to an ankle injury on Thursday. He dressed to play but didn't run a route during pregame warmups and was wearing sweatpants.

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said Monday that Autman-Bell, who injured his ankle Aug. 12, was a game-time decision.

Autman-Bell had 22 catches for 430 yards and one touchdown last season, the No. 2 receiver behind eventual first-round pick Rashod Bateman. Daniel Jackson was the next most-productive receiver a year ago. He had 12 receptions for 167 yards.

BUCKEYES OUT

Ohio State's availability report showed starting center Harry Miller, cornerback Cameron Brown and nine other players were out against the Gophers.

Miller stared seven games at left guard in 2020. Brown has played 10 total games, but only one last season due to injury.

The Gophers don't issue an availability report before the game.

BRIEFLY

In the second quarter, Minnesota safety Jordan Howden left with a right-leg injury. ... The game drew in more than 30 NFL scouts and front-office personnel from roughly 20 teams on Thursday. It's believed to be a record high for Minnesota. The group included former Gophers running back David Cobb, who was hired as a scouting assistant with the Carolina Panthers in March. ... The Gophers wore helmet stickers to honor Mack Motzko, the 20-year-old son of U men's hockey coach Bob Motzko who passed away in a car accident in August. ... Gophers' heavyweight wrestler Gable Steveson was honored for his gold metal in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.