P.J. Fleck and his Minnesota staff were hard at work during the idle week and it paid off on Saturday. The Gophers, despite being down multiple stars against Nebraska, found a way to break through the Huskers’ defense.

Tanner Morgan was outstanding in the first half, completing 14-of-15 passes for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading Minnesota to a 21-9 advantage through the first 30 minutes. The Gophers didn’t look back from that lead, posting a 30-23 win over Nebraska.

Minnesota got the win despite being without Trey Potts, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season following an unspecified health concern that surfaced at the end of the game against Purdue. The Gophers were already without top running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who was injured in the opener against Ohio State.

The Gophers were also without receiver Daniel Jackson, who entered the game with a team-high 14 catches.

Fleck’s squad struck early, scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the game. The Gophers put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead thanks to Cole Kramer’s first career touchdown passes to Brevyn Spann-Ford.

After  a Nebraska field goal, Minnesota had another strong drive on the following possession, marching down the field on a 7-play, 79-yard drive. Late in the second quarter, Chris Autman-Bell made an unbelievable catch to make the score 21-9 heading into the half.

Nebraska didn’t go away.

The Huskers intercepted passes on back-to-back drives thanks to Cam Taylor-Britt and Deontai Williams. Nebraska closed the gap to 21-16 in the third quarter and had a chance to take the lead. An Adrian Martinez run was stopped short of the goal line and a Jaquez Yant run on 4th down was stuffed, as well.

Nebraska had three more possessions to put points on the board, but failed to take the lead.

Bryce Williams sealed the win for the Gophers with a 56-yard touchdown run to make the score 30-16 with just over 2 minutes to play. Nebraska scored on the following drive but failed to recover the onside kick.

Minnesota improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in B1G play with the win. The Gophers currently look like the second-best team in the West and could be the top challenger to Iowa.

Morgan finished the game completing 20-of-24 passes for 29 yards with 2 touchdowns an 2 picks. Williams totaled 127 yards on the ground and Autman-Bell hauled in 11 catches for 103 yards.

Nebraska falls to 3-5 on the season and needs to win 3 of its final 4 games to get to bowl eligibility. All 5 losses for the Huskers have come in one-possession games.