EVANSTON, ILL. – During their four-game Big Ten winning streak, the Gophers have relied heavily on their running game, with a ratio of 71.9% runs to 28.1% passes. Saturday was no exception, as Minnesota ran the ball 53 times and passed it 17.
That, however, doesn't mean they're not getting big plays in the pass game. Mike Brown-Stephens is making sure of that.
Brown-Stephens caught a team-high four passes for 63 yards in the Gophers 41-14 victory over Northwestern at Ryan Field, continuing his development into a solid option for quarterback Tanner Morgan. Brown-Stephens has 10 catches for 261 yards and one touchdown in his past four games.
"He was incredible,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said of the redshirt sophomore. "You talk about a guy who's truly matured, grown up. The biggest difference Michael Brown has been able to do is respond to adversity. When you're a young player and you get here and everything's new in your life, your ability to respond to hard things is really difficult. He's had plenty of things happen to him in his personal life and football life … that have been really hard to deal with. All he's done has put his oar in the water and row.''
Against Northwestern, Brown-Stephens came up especially big on a second-quarter drive in which he caught a 17-yard pass to the Northwestern 35 and an 18-yard gain to the 20 on second-and-13. The Gophers extended their lead to 20-7 in that possession. He added a 24-yard reception later in the quarter and a 16-yard gain in the third quarter.
"When he gets the ball in his hands, he does a lot of phenomenal things,'' Morgan said. "He's able to create a lot of separation. … He's always had the speed, and his consistency has gone way up. His confidence continues to grow.''
Added Fleck, "He's become a big weapon for us.''
The development of Brown-Stephens has filled the void in the wide receiver corps that saw Chris Autman-Bell miss most of three games early in the season, Dylan Wright miss one game and Daniel Jackson miss two.
"He stepped in a huge role,'' Fleck said of Brown-Stephens, the nephew of singer John Legend. "He's got somebody very close to him that has a spotlight on him a lot, and I'm sure [Legend] has helped him along the way. He's very close to his uncle.''
Staying the course
Though they're sitting alone atop the Big Ten West with a 4-1 record, the Gophers didn't want to look past their upcoming game against Illinois on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.
"If you don't win the next one, you can go from first to fifth, whatever it may be,'' Morgan said. "Any team can beat you in any week, so you have to be at your best.''
Defensive tackle Micah Dew-Treadway concurred.
"You've got to get better at something every day, every week,'' he said. "Once you do that, it'll come together for you.''
Etc.
- Jackson, who ranked second on the team with 14 receptions entering Saturday, returned to the lineup after missing the past two games because of an undisclosed injury. He caught one pass for 12 yards.
- Defensive lineman Trill Carter (undisclosed injury) did not play.
- Safety Tyler Nubin briefly left the game early in the fourth quarter because of a lower-leg injury but returned.
- Shady Salamon, who played defensive back for the Gophers from 2008-11, gave the speech at Saturday morning's captains' breakfast.
