DETROIT – Mohamed Ibrahim took full advantage of the holes his teammates created to burst through the line or get to the outside.
And when defenders were in Ibrahim’s way, he simply lowered his shoulder to run over them.
Ibrahim ran for career-high 224 yards and two touchdowns, leading Minnesota to a 34-10 victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night in the Quick Lane Bowl.
The Golden Gophers (7-6) won three of their final four games this season, and Ibrahim had a lot to do with that. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound redshirt freshman running back rushed for 121 yards in a win at Wisconsin that made Minnesota eligible for a bowl game and ran for 155 yards last month in a victory over Purdue.
“He’s not the biggest, strongest or fastest,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. “He has that too short, too small, too this, king of the toos, which is right up my alley. This kid’s got more heart, passion, courage and plays the game the right way more than anybody I’ve ever met.”