Watching Minnesota Gopher football in the Pinstripe Bowl and the keys to victory

The last game of the 2022 season and the last chance to watch some of the elite Gophers who have been here for a long time.

How to watch

TV: ESPN
Time: 1:00 am
Streaming: The ESPN app

3 KEYS

• Passport protection – The Orange will be without their NFL-caliber quarterback, who finished second in the ACC in rushing. They rely heavily on their quarterback, Garrett Shrader, who had a great first half and an injury-plagued second. But the Gopher’s elite pass defense will go a long way to the Gopher victory.
• Run the ball all day – One last game to watch Mohamed Ibrahim and one last game where his impressive running ability is an absolute key to the Gopher offense. Some of that is owning the line of scrimmage, some is well-timed play-action calls, but mostly it’s Ibrahim taking over this game.
• Win the turnover battle – Uncertainty over who will play quarterback, turnover at both of Syracuse’s coordinator positions, and port transfer galore. There are a lot of unknowns in this game, don’t help the opponent.

OPPOSITE PLAYERS WATCH

• #6 QB – Garrett Shrader – What Shrader will appear today?
• #93 DE – Caleb Okechukwu – an important force in attacking backfields. The Gopher OL was better than expected this year, but occasionally the opposing DL made too many plays in the backfield.

DIVINATION

PJ Fleck has always done a great job navigating the changes between the end of the season and bowl games. He prepares his team to play and they play engaged. So many bowl games go sideways for teams where they really don’t seem to care how this glorified exhibition game turns out. But Fleck seems to be pushing the right buttons.

I think he will do it again and the Gophers will ride Ibrahim to victory.

Minnesota – 31st
Syracuse – 24