Big Ten Daily (Dec. 27): Darius Taylor Runs Wild, Minnesota Wins Quick Lane Bowl
Detroit is a blue-collar city, known for its toughness and grit. How fitting, then, that Darius Taylor embodied those traits in the return to his hometown on Tuesday, leading Minnesota to a Quick Lane Bowl win over Bowling Green at Ford Field.
Taylor rushed for a career-high 208 yards and a touchdown in a 30-24 victory for the Golden Gophers. In total, the true freshman accounted for 219 of Minnesota's 281 yards. Not a bad homecoming performance.
For his efforts, Taylor was named the Most Valuable Player of the Quick Lane Bowl. It was a special way to cap a somewhat disappointing season — missing six games this year due to injury.
"It was a great opportunity to just play with my guys again," Taylor said following the game, per the Star Tribune. "So, I was willing to do whatever it took to win this game."
Minnesota needed that type of effort from Taylor, too. Cole Kramer, a senior making his first (and only) career start in the bowl game, completed just eight-of-16 passes for 26 yards. He did account for three touchdowns — two through the air and one on the ground.
Heading into Tuesday's game, Taylor said the strategy was to go with the ground-and-pound attack.
"We planned all week to just run the ball and be physical," Taylor said.
Minnesota has now won seven straight bowl games and is a perfect 5-0 in the postseason under P.J. Fleck. And though the Gophers coach doesn't believe in momentum, it undoubtedly provides a spark for a team that closed out the regular season losing its final four games.
"Just proud of our football team for the resolve and their stick-to-it-iveness to get us to where we are," Fleck said. "It was good enough to be 1-0 tonight."
Kenny Guiton to Wisconsin
Welcome back to the Big Ten, Kenny Guiton. According to a report from Football Scoop's John Brice, the former Ohio State quarterback is expected to join Luke Fickell's staff at Wisconsin.
The Badgers were in the market for a wide receivers coach after Mike Brown left Madison for a job at Notre Dame. Guiton brings nearly a decade of experience with him to Wisconsin.
Guiton played at Ohio State from 2009-13. Fickell was the defensive coordinator in Columbus for a majority of that stretch, with the exception of the 2011 campaign. That year, he was the interim head coach following Jim Tressel's firing.
So, not only does Guiton bring experience, he has a personal connection with Fickell.
Guiton has spent the last three seasons at Arkansas, where he's served as the wide receivers coach. He began his career on the sidelines in Houston as a graduate assistant in 2015 and 2016 before being named wide receivers coach for the next two seasons.
The former Buckeye then had one-year stops at Louisiana Tech (2019) and Colorado State (2020) before landing a job with the Razorbacks.
Guiton was primarily a backup during his playing days in Columbus. He finished his career with 893 passing yards, 383 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns.
Nic Scourton Enters Transfer Portal
One of Purdue's top defensive players from the 2023 season is leaving the program. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Nic Scourton was planning to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
Scourton was a force for the Boilermakers last season, leading the Big Ten with 10 sacks and piling up 15 tackles for loss. He was also a team captain for Ryan Walters' squad, which ended the year with a 4-8 record.
Because of his success in West Lafayette, there will be plenty of suitors for the pass-rusher. While Purdue has seen a number of talented players exit the program, this might be the biggest blow yet.
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