Run the North | Golden Gophers football

[redsox907]

I got faith in Ijeboi to carry the team in Turner's absence.

:myman:
I knew you knew ball.

I dont think you're allowed to use that gif sir

try

[ShireNiner]

I got faith in Ijeboi to carry the team in Turner's absence.

:myman:
I knew you knew ball.

I dont think you're allowed to use that gif sir

try

haha I was going with My Man from American Gangster.

[The Hunted]

That will be a great game, Weigman has been on fire as can be seen by the awards he won, if you shut him down this is yours for the taking.

[djp73]

tough matchup here, gonna be on the defense

[ShireNiner]

Jayden Maiava throws for 3 touchdowns as USC beats UCLA 28-20 | Over 300 passing yards for Julian Sayin in Buckeyes 38-28 win over SMU | DJ Lagway does it again, 223 yards and 3 touchdowns, Florida 38 Georgia 17 |
Turner Plays Hero as Gophers stun Red Raiders, 34-31

Two fourth-quarter touchdowns pushed Minnesota over the line in a dramatic playoff win (ShireNiner PS5 images)

Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-3, 9-1 Big Ten, CFP No. 7) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-0, 9-0 Big 12, CFP No. 2)
CFP Playoffs Quarter-Finals, Saturday, Jan 1, 2027

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#7 MINN | 0 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 34
#2 TTU | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7| 31

By: Bill Connelly | January 1, 2027
Writer, CFB

ATLANTA— With 3:21 left in the fourth quarter, Mick Smith looked at the scoreboard and weighed his options. The second half has been a struggle on the ground. Texas Tech was packing the box and forcing AJ Brand to throw deep. Twice, the freshman quarterback was lucky to avoid interceptions. Smith could put the game in the freshman's hands and see if he stepped up. Or, he could call on the player who has saved Minnesota all season. Down by four, 3:21 remaining with three time-outs and the two-minute warning, time was not a factor.

"Turner!" The coach called, and the star running back, who had been sitting all game due to injuries, came running over. "Can you give me a drive?" Smith knew the answer before he even asked the question. Without a reply, Turner put on his helmet and jogged to the huddle.

The first run went for ten yards, the second for eight, then a short two before another ten-yard run. Just like that, Minnesota was in Texas Tech's territory as the two-minute warning hit. "I was worried we would score too fast at that point," Smith said after the win. "Their offense was a threat all night. We had to make sure we scored, but left no time for them."

A Brand rollout scramble for 19 yards set up the stage for Turner. On his 9th carry of the drive, Turner went untouched for a 3-yard touchdown. One drive. Nine carries. 56 yards and the game-winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining.

"He's a warrior, man." Backup running back Fame Ijeboi (119 yards and 2 touchdowns) said after the game. "When he's in the game, there is no stopping him. We know he's hurt, he is limited, but when the team needs him, he steps up."

"I think he wanted to prove something tonight. We all felt like he was the Heisman winner." Senior linebacker Aidan Gousby said. "He has carried our offense all year, and looking at Tech, I mean, no disrespect, but they threw screen after screen. Any QB can get yards doing that. Turner came in, put the game on his back, and took it."

For Tech, it was their first loss of the season and their first since losing the National Championship last year. After starting the game with a bang, an 84-yard touchdown on the first play of the game, and quickly going up 14-0. The offense began to make mistakes. A turnover on downs in the red zone in the second quarter, a missed field-goal in the third quarter, another turnover on downs when a 4th and one was stopped at the six-yard line, and then a Conner Weigman fumble on the Gophers' one-yard line to start the 4th quarter.

"We had chances, plenty of them." Red Raider coach Joey McGuire said after the loss. "Credit to Minnesota in the second half, they made adjustments to stop our screens, but the fumble, the missed pass on fourth down, and then a missed block on our fourth down run. Those mistakes cost us tonight."

It was a back-and-forth of adjustments all night on both ends. Texas Tech started with a short slant that went 84 yards for a touchdown. The second drive was a screen out of the backfield for 68 yards down to the three. A short touchdown pass on the next play stunned the Gopher crowd. Minnesota quickly made adjustments to start the second quarter.

"We caught on to their motions. Any time a man went in motion, they tried throwing a screen that way. So we dropped the ends, split them wide to the motion side, and started to stop those screens behind the line." Smith said when asked about the changes.

Tech then made their own changes, noticing the shifts in Minnesota. In the fourth quarter, Tech sent the running back in motion, making Minnesota think a screen was coming, as Emmanuel Karmo shot out wide. Weigman handed the ball off to Quinten Joyner, who came for the end around. Joyner hit the hole that Karmo left open and went 71 yards for the touchdown.

"Two great teams out there, making adjustments after each body blow. Texas Tech made it look easier, putting up plenty of yards and moving the ball almost every time they had it. Minnesota was more of a grind, longer drives, and chunk plays." Kirk Herbstreit said on the broadcast. "If Tech had another minute at the end, I think they win, but Minnesota ate every second they could before the last touchdown, and that won the game."

For Texas Tech, the season is over with plenty of individual awards, but just falling short in the playoffs. For Minnesota, the journey continues with a Big Ten rematch next week in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State.

"We know them well. We know how great they are and what kind of battle it will be next week. We are excited for the chance to play another week."

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Scoring Summary
1st quarter
Micah Hudson 84 yard pass from Conner Weigman, 8:39
Sedrick Alexander 3 yard pass from Conner Weigman, 1:41

2nd quarter
Grant Washington, 18 yd run, 11:45
Fame Ijeboi, 2 yd run, 7:40
Stone Harrington, 28 yd FG, 1:48
Manual Valles, 27 yd FG. 0:00

3rd quarter
Micah Hudson 19-yard pass from Conner Weigman, 4:18
Manual Valles, 48 yd FG. 1:37

4th quarter
Fame Ijeboi, 3 yd run, 4:31
Quinten Joyner, 71 yd run, 3:21
AJ Tuner, 3 yd run, 0:30

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Soapys' Box Score

Passing
AJ Brand, FR, QB - 22/34, 64%, 203 yds, 59 rush yards
Conner Weigman, SR, QB - 36/46, 78%, 369 yds, 3 TDs

Rushing
Fame Ijeboi, SO, RB - 22 atts, 119 yds, 5.4 avg, 2 TDs
AJ Turner, SR, RB - 9 atts, 56 yds, 6.2 avg, 1 TD
Quinten Joyner, SO, RB - 8 atts, 117 yds, 14.6 avg, 1 TD

Receiving
Jerry Cross, SR, TE - 6 rec, 47 yds
Jalen Smith, FR, WR - 2 rec, 20 yds
Micah Hudson, JR, WR - 8 rec, 136 yds, 2 TDs
Coy Eakin, SR, WR - 2 rec, 31 yds

Defense
Aidan Gousby, SR, MIKE - 7 tkls, 2 TFL
Kerry Brown, JR, SS - 8 tkls, 1 TFL
Emmanual Karmo, SO, LEDG - 6 tkls, 2 TFL
Mitch Horan, FR, WILL - 8 tkls, 2 TFL, 1 sack
Ben Roberts, SR, MIKE - 11 tkls, 2 TFL
Jaray Bledsoe, SR, DT - 11 tkls, 3 TFL
Bravion Rogers, SR, CB - 7 tkls
D. Santiago, SR, REDG - 12 tkls, 1 TFL

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Bill Connelly is a writer for ShireNiner Nation covering College Football and Premier League Soccer. He previously worked at ESPN covering College Football, Tennis, and Soccer.

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Comments

[ShireNiner]

Dan Lanning went 17-11 against top-25 teams while at Oregon (ShireNiner PS5 images.)

Lanning leaves Ducks, takes over Notre Dame after Freeman Fired

By: Bruce Felderman
Senior Writer, CFB

“I’m not leaving Oregon.” Dan Lanning shared on the Rich Eisen Show back in October 2025. “As long as I win, that’s what I always tell my kids. If your dad wins, we’ll be at Oregon. So I’ve got to win. That’s how it changes.” Two years later, Lanning is leaving the University of Oregon to become the next coach at Notre Dame.

Coming off a Duke's Mayo Bowl victory and a 9-3 season, Dan Lanning has decided now is the time to leave Eugene for South Bend. Lanning went 54-13 at Oregon, 17-11 against the top 25, and 3-2 in bowls, making the playoffs twice.

Lanning failed to win a Championship at Oregon, but he came to Eugene and steadied the ship when the school was thrown into surprise chaos by the departure of Mario Cristobal. "We thank Dan for everything he did for Oregon. He came to us when a leader and motivator were needed. We lost recruits, a coach, and could have really been in trouble, but Dan came in and, from day one, turned this program around." AD Rob Mullens said.

Lanning will be taking over an Irish team coming off an 8-4 season and a win in the Holiday Bowl. Marcus Freeman was fired before the bowl game, a move many in the media questioned until the Lanning hire was announced. Now the move looks like Notre Dame upgraded based on recent records and made the difficult decision to part from a consistent coach to bring in a coach that can take the program up a step.

Lanning knows the pressure will be on him; he knows the attention is always on the Irish, and he now knows it is championship or bust in South Bend.

What did you think of this story?

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Bruce Felderman is a writer for ShireNiner Nation covering NCAA Football. Bruce previously wrote for ESPN, The Telegraph and The Athletic before we paid way more money and he came to us.

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Comments

[Caesar]

Caestradomus. Knew Ijeboi could carry the burden.

SN: it's impossible to read your text on dark styles with the font color change.

[ShireNiner]

Caestradomus. Knew Ijeboi could carry the burden.

SN: it's impossible to read your text on dark styles with the font color change.

That's good to know. That's too bad, I liked the 'softer' color instead of just black, but that makes sense for the dark mode.

[ShireNiner]

BREAKING NEWS: 1st team All-Americans: QB Conner Weigman , RB AJ Turner, RB Ahmad Hardy, WR Ja'Kobi Lane, WR Landon Roldan, WR Talyn Shettron, TE Preston Howard, LT Evan Link, LG Drew Evans, C Brady Small, RG Addison Nichols, RT Brayden Jacobs | LEDG Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace, REDG Wesley Williams, DT Bear Alexander, DT Khurliss Perry, SAM Rasheem Biles, MIKE Braylan Lovelace, CB Jaden Mickey, CB Zamari Stevenson, FS Jourdan Thomas, SS Jaden Milliner-Jones



Coaches finding new homes around the College Football World

By: Bruce Felderman | January 3, 202
Senior Writer, CFB

A week after being fired, multiple coaches have already found new homes across the country. Dan Lanning going to Notre Dame set off a series of events around the Big Ten and Big 12.

Josh Heupel, previously at Tennessee, moved to Oklahoma, who previously fired Brent Venables. Heupel led Tennessee to a top-25 finish this season, going 81-32 in his career with a 4-4 bowl record. Heupel's 'veer and shoot' offense will be a welcome addition in Oklahoma after two years of below-par offensive outputs.

Kenny Dillingham is heading to Eugene, taking over for Dan Lanning at Oregon. Dillingham was previously the offensive coordinator at Oregon before moving to Arizona State in 2023. After a surprise appearance in the 2024 playoffs, the Sun Devils have been on a downward trend over the past two seasons. With the lack of NIL funding and recruiting classes declining, Dillingham made the jump to one of the richest schools in the country.

Former Irish coach Marcus Freeman is joining the Big Ten and taking over at Penn State. Freeman is 50-20 in his career and one of the hottest free-agent coaches around. Penn State offered Freeman one of the highest salaries in the league, plus additional NIL funding to build the Nittany Lions to his liking.

From Penn State to Indiana, James Franklin is staying in the Big Ten. Franklin is often praised for his recruiting but his lack of winning the big games cost him at Penn State. After two years of dominance, Indiana will be expecting Franklin to continue that streak and keep improving the program.

And the last new hire, moving from the Sooners to the Cowboys, Brent Venables is going to his former team's rival. Going 37-28 at Oklahoma, Venables was often criticised for his lack of offense. At OK State, that will not work as the Cowboys expect his air raid offense to take off and keep the excitement the fans have come to expect.

There are still plenty of jobs to be changed and coaches to be hired, but for now, these are the names to watch in the ever-changing college football landscape.

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Bruce Felderman is a writer for ShireNiner Nation covering NCAA Football. Bruce previously wrote for ESPN, The Telegraph, and The Athletic before we paid way more money and he came to us.

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Comments

[redsox907]

huge win there. Sorry for doubting you. But to be fair, if you weren't committing criminal assault on Turner making him run out there and ruin his NFL career, you wouldn't have won

How many times in Coach Mick Smith going to sacrifice his players future for his winning percentage? Gotta wonder if guys are going to want to keep signing up to play for a coach that doesn't care for their wellbeing