The Minnesota Gophers are coming off one of the biggest victories in modern program history, last week vs the Iowa Hawkeyes. Now back over .500 (4-3) on the season, PJ Fleck & Co will welcome a battered 2-5 Michigan State Spartans team that has been battling head coach controversy, much like Northwestern has, for the entire season.
Darius Taylor, Zach Evans out vs Michigan State
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But, the task Saturday got a lot more difficult early this afternoon, when Minnesota’s pregame injury report came out and both Minnesota B1G Freshman of the Week running backs, Darius Taylor (3x) and Zach Evans (1x). Cody Lindenberg is listed as questionable for what seems like the 47th week in a row.
Here is the #Gophers availability report ahead of today's game vs. Michigan State. Darius Taylor, Zach Evans and Tyler Cooper are out. Cody Lindenberg is listed as questionable. pic.twitter.com/Yv7R5syHro
— Daniel House (@DanielHouseMN) October 28, 2023
Minnesota B1G Freshman of the Week backs will be missed
That’s bad news for the run-loving PJ Fleck, given Taylor (true freshman) and Evans (redshirt freshman) account for 2/3 of Minnesota’s ground game production on the season. I’d imagine the Gopher offense will lean on upperclassmen transfer, Sean Tyler, to get them by vs the underwhelming Spartans.
We’ll see if they can get the job done because we know one thing, Fleck isn’t going to use this as an opportunity to flex the arm of Athan Kaliakmanis and the pass game. Kickoff is at 2:30 PM.
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan