Dear Old Gold
Fansided

Iowa football: AJ Epenesa sack still impacting the Minnesota Gophers

By Andrew Wade

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackles Mohamed Ibrahim #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first quarter of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackles Mohamed Ibrahim #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first quarter of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

AJ Epenesa’s sack of Tanner Morgan at the end of Saturday’s game was huge for the Iowa football team, and it could impact Minnesota this Saturday as well.

It was a bad day to be Tanner Morgan last Saturday. Fueled by Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week AJ Epenesa and his 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble, the Iowa football team put together one of their best sack efforts this decade with six sacks of the Gophers starting quarterback.

The last sack, while important to the Iowa football team’s winning efforts, could have a longer impact on the Minnesota Gophers, who fell two spots in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after losing their first game of 2019 to the Hawks.

With two games remaining, the Gopher’s goals are not dead. They still control their own destiny. If they win out, they are looking at a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game, and if they are able to shock the world and knock off Ohio State, there is a chance they could end up in the College Football Playoffs.

It’s going to be a lot more difficult, however, without their starting quarterback.

And that’s where the Iowa football team’s star defensive end AJ Epenesa comes in.

His sack on second down of Tanner Morgan didn’t just push Minnesota back closer to their own goal line, it also knocked Morgan out of the game. And according to PJ Fleck, it could keep him out of this week’s upcoming game against Northwestern as Morgan is currently in concussion protocol. Here’s what Fleck had to say:

"Making progress, but he’s in protocol. So that’s all out of my hands. That’s all up to our medical staff and trainers, who are all doing a great job."

While I do think Northwestern is not a team that should give Minnesota any fits, concussions are a tricky business. There is no standard timetable, and if Morgan has to sit out vs Northwestern and even possibly Wisconsin, that could put the Gopher’s dream season in serious jeopardy.

Next. Where does Iowa stand in the 2019 bowl season?. dark

Say what you want about the play itself and Fleck, but if this is the case, then AJ Epenesa’s sack didn’t just seal the deal for the Iowa football team it also could have sealed the fate of the Gophers too.

Home/Iowa Football