Freshman Darius Taylor, dominant defense lead Gophers over Eastern Michigan
Darius Taylor, the true freshman running back from Michigan. rushed for more than 180 yards and a touchdown to lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0) to a 25-6 victory over Eastern Michigan (1-1) Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Taylor and Sean Tyler, the first-year Gopher who transferred from Western Michigan, combined for 286 yards. Taylor finished with 193 yards on 33 carries and Tyler racked up 93 yards on 19 carries, though he also fumbled twice. As a team, Minnesota rushed for 296 yards.
"He earned the right to play," head coach P.J. Fleck said of Taylor after the game, noting that Tyler had trouble holding onto the football. "Thought he played pretty well. We'll watch the film and see where we are."
Taylor, who had just one carry for three yards in Week 1, was part of Minnesota's 2023 recruiting class after starring at Walled Lake Western High School. He chose the Gophers over offers fro the likes of Wisconsin and Michigan.
Darius Taylor is showing why he was a 4-star recruit tonight. ⭐@Dariustay1or x @GopherFootball
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 10, 2023
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/WtNsD2HzE6
Athan Kaliakmanis, the redshirt sophomore quarterback, attempted just 15 passes all night. He completed 10 of them for 117 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Corey Crooms led the receivers with three catches for 45 yards and Daniel Jackson had two grabs for 42 yards.
Darius Taylor is just a freshman, but he can move the pile. 💪@Dariustay1or x @GopherFootball
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 10, 2023
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/J2o2bEF04Q
Minnesota's defense was stifling, holding Eastern Michigan to six points after limiting Nebraska to 10 points in Week 1. Eastern Michigan did not pick up a first down in the entire second half and the Eagles had just 152 total yards.
"He's the best in the business," Fleck said of defensive coordinator Joe Rossi during the Big Ten Network on-field interview after the game.
The victory sets the stage for a big showdown next Saturday when the Gophers face 17th-ranked North Carolina. The Tar Heels, led by potential top-five pick, quarterback Drake Maye, improved to 2-0 with a 40-34 win in double overtime against Appalachian State on Saturday.
Maye threw for just 208 yards while the North Carolina rushing attack totaled 319 yards on 45 carries, including 234 yards from sophomore Omarion Hampton.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.