Tanner Morgan went 23-of-26 passing for 268 yards and three touchdown to lead Minnesota to a 34-7 road win at Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries for Minnesota (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten), which outgained Michigan State, 508-240.
The Golden Gophers also had an enormous 42:30 of possession time, outrushed Michigan State (2-2, 0-1), 240-38, and forced three Michigan State turnovers.
Payton Thorne went 17-of-24 passing for 132 yards and two interceptions for Michigan State.
Minnesota dominated the first quarter, first taking a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Ibrahim on the first drive of the game, which finished off a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
The Golden Gophers then marched 77 yards in nine plays and took a 14-0 lead with 2:57 remaining in the first on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Morgan to Daniel Jackson.
At the end of the first quarter, Minnesota had 169 yards and 14 first downs to 1 yard and no first downs for Michigan State.
Minnesota again drove the field and took a 17-0 lead with 10:14 left in the second quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Matthew Trickett.
On the first possession of the second half, Michigan State’s offense drove all the way down to the Minnesota 6-yard line, but on a first-down carry Thorne fumbled.
The ball was recovered by Minnesota’s Justin Walley and returned to the Minnesota 10.
The Golden Gophers then took the ball, drove 90 yards and took a 24-0 lead with 3:26 remaining in the third on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Morgan to Nick Kallerup.
Following an interception, Minnesota took a 31-0 lead with 14:08 remaining in the game on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Morgan to Jackson.
Trickett made it 34-0 Minnesota on a 22-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining.
Michigan State broke up the shutout on a 27-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Noah Kim to Germie Bernard with 17 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media