All Gophers

Darius Taylor hands Gophers huge injury boost ahead of Ohio State showdown

Taylor is set to return from a two-game absence as Minnesota looks to pull off a stunner.
Will Ragatz|
Nov 29, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
Nov 29, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In this story:

Minnesota Vikings

Gophers standout junior running back Darius Taylor is off the injury report and available for Saturday night's game against the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Taylor missed the last two games (against Cal and Rutgers) with a leg injury suffered against Northwestern State in Minnesota's second game of the season. He now returns just in time to play a big role in the Gophers' offense as they take on the No. 1 scoring defense in the country.

As a sophomore last season, Taylor racked up 1,336 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. He had 891 yards and five touchdowns in just six games as a true freshman in 2023. Taylor missed the Gophers' 37-3 loss at Ohio Stadium that season due to injury.

Now that he's back, Taylor figures to once again be a big part of Gophers offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr.'s game plan as Minnesota tries to pull off a stunning upset as more than three-touchdown underdogs. If the Gophers can get Taylor going at all, it would help make life easier for redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey, who will need to play a fantastic game in order for Minnesota to keep the score close.

Ohio State has allowed a total of 22 points in four games, although two of those games were against an FCS team (Grambling State) and a team from the MAC (Ohio).

Fame Ijeboi and Cam Davis are next up on the Gophers' depth chart at running back. AJ Turner is out for the season with an injury.

Gousby out

The one piece of bad news on the Gophers' Saturday availability report is that starting safety Aidan Gousby has been ruled out.

A redshirt junior from Florida, Gousby has 12 tackles in four games this season. With backup safety Garrison Monroe also out, it's not totally clear who will step up into an expanded role alongside Koi Perich and Kerry Brown in Minnesota's secondary.

Kickoff between Minnesota and Ohio State is at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC.

More Gophers coverage

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz
Home/Gophers Football