Gophers kickoff pushed back to 8 p.m. due to weather, Darius Taylor out
Gophers running back Darius Taylor scores from 1-yard out at Northwestern Saturday night. (University of Minnesota Athletics)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As storms push through the Twin Cities metro, the kickoff for Thursday's matchup between the Minnesota Gophers and North Carolina Tar Heels football game has been delayed an hour.
What we know
The game will now start at 8 p.m. Kickoff was originally scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is the kickoff to the college football season for both teams.
Context
Strong storms are currently moving through the metro. A severe storm warning as issued around 3:45 p.m. covering much of the metro.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 9:30 p.m.
Darius Taylor, Darius Green out for Gophers
The Gophers released their availability report at 6 p.m. ahead of kickoff. Star running back Darius Taylor will not play Thursday night against North Carolina after suffering an injury during fall camp. It's reportedly a hamstring injury, which is the same injury that forced him to miss half of the 2023 season. Taylor was the Big Ten's leading rusher when he went down with an injury, and still led the Gophers in rushing last season.
Taylor's absence means Oklahoma transfer Marcus Major likely gets the start at running back, followed by Ohio transfer Sieh Bangura, Michigan State transfer Jared Mangham and Jordan Nubin.
Green, a safety, had been out of fall camp with an injury and recently returned to practice, but isn't ready to play. Back-up tight end Pierce Walsh is also out.
Daniel Jackson, Minnesota's top returning receiver, is not listed and will play Thursday night. He had been limited during fall camp.