Georgia Tech Football: Gophers silenced by Minnesota in Quick Lane Bowl

Georgia Tech football blew their chance to send coach Paul Johnson out on a high note, falling to Minnesota in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 224 yards and two touchdowns, singlehandedly out-gaining the Georgia Tech triple-option rushing attack by himself and propelling the Gophers to a Quick Lane Bowl victory. The win is P.J. Fleck‘s first as the head coach at Minnesota and concludes Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson’s bowl record with the Yellow Jackets at 3-6.

Here are three key takeaways from Minnesota’s dominant win:

1. Bowl season still full of snoozers

Georgia Southern edged Eastern Michigan 23-21 in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, FIU topped Toledo 35-32 in the Makers Wanted Bahama Bowl and Wake Forest took down Memphis 37-34 in the Jared Birmingham Bowl. Those three games, out of 14 completed games (excluding the canceled First Responder Bowl), were the only games decided by single digits.

There was a brief moment when this contest looked like it might not end in another blowout. Georgia Tech kicker Wesley Wells connected on a 44-yard field goal as the time expired in the first half, cutting the Minnesota lead to 13-3. The second half would be all Gophers, who took a 17-point lead in the third quarter and extended it to a 24-point advantage, where the game would end with a final score of 34-10.