Fourth-down gamble on final drive gives Gophers 24-17 victory over No. 11 USC

The loudspeakers blasted Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” as the revelers inside Huntington Bank Stadium flowed down from the stands and onto the playing field. The Gophers had just knocked off No. 11 Southern California 24-17 on Saturday night, and the announced crowd of 50,913 wanted to be part of the fun of a 14-point fourth-quarter rally that needed a fourth-down quarterback sneak from inside the 1-yard line in the last minute to become reality.

And when Koi Perich, the Esko, Minn., freshman safety who turned down the sport’s blue bloods to stay home, leaped for an end zone interception to snuff out the Trojans’ last chance, the Gophers needed only one victory formation kneel-down by quarterback Max Brosmer for a win they desperately needed.

“That was absolutely ridiculous in a good way,” Brosmer said of the field-storming. “We have amazing fans, and to experience that with this team is pretty cool.”

Brosmer, the graduate transfer from New Hampshire who picked Minnesota to play in games like these, ran for three touchdowns, including two on tush-push quarterback sneaks. He led the Gophers on 75- and 65-yard TD drives in the fourth quarter, scoring both times as his team came back from a 17-10 deficit to beat the Trojans for the second time in nine tries — and the first since 1955.

“Huge win for our program,” said Gophers coach P.J. Fleck, whose team posted its first victory over a ranked opponent since last year’s 12-10 triumph at No. 24 Iowa. The Trojans were the highest-ranked team the Gophers (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) have beaten since topping No. 9 Auburn 31-24 in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day 2020.

Running back Darius Taylor was a force, garnering 200 all-purpose yards by rushing 25 times for 144 yards and catching five passes for 56 yards. Marcus Major chipped in with 75 all-purpose yards, and receiver Daniel Jackson had four catches for 36 yards and drew a couple of key pass interference penalties on the Trojans defense.

The Gophers defense bent as USC amassed 373 total yards and running back Woody Marks carried 20 times for 134 yards. But when Minnesota needed to make a defensive stand, it did in the fourth quarter on an interception by Devon Williams after Jah Joyner pressure of QB Miller Moss; a forced punt; and the late pick by Perich after USC reached the Minnesota 26 with 14 seconds to play.

The decisive points came with 56 seconds left when Brosmer bulled into the end zone on fourth-and-less-than-a-half on a tush-push sneak, although officials on the field originally didn’t see it that way. It took a replay review to show that Brosmer had scored.

Fleck could have opted to kick a field goal to go up 20-17, but he figured he needed the touchdown, given how successful the USC offense had been.

“It’s a big call, but it wasn’t very hard [to make],” Fleck said. “… How often do you have an inch to go to beat USC? You don’t have it very often.”

The Gophers got in position for that winning score with a 75-yard drive that started when Le’Meke Brockington made an excellent sideline catch for a 22-yard gain. After Brosmer scrambled for 9 yards, the QB found Jackson for 16 to the USC 26. Major gained 8 yards, and Taylor went for 3, then 8, then 3 to make it first-and-goal from the 4. Taylor gained 3 yards over the next two plays, and the Gophers faced third-and-goal from the 1. The first QB sneak didn’t get the TD. The second, finally, did.

“What we talk about every week is going 1-0 on every play,” Gophers offensive lineman Quinn Carroll said. “And that starts us off with us up front.”

Said Taylor: “My whole line was doing a great job, and the tight ends, too. They were getting up to that second level.”

USC (3-2, 1-2) got a 54-yard field goal from former Gopher Michael Lantz at time expired in the first half to tie the score 10-10, then used a 12-play, 91-yard march to pull ahead 17-10 on Marks’ 1-yard run with 5:47 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, though, the Gophers defense stepped up when it meant the most.

Joyner pressured Moss and hit the QB while he was passing on third-and-4 from the Gophers 35. Linebacker Devon Williams dived to intercept the pass with 10:11 left.

“I had good get-off and was able to make a good move on the offensive tackle,” Joyner said.

BOXSCORE: Gophers 24, No. 11 USC 17

The Gophers offense responded by driving 65 yards for the tying score. Taylor caught a screen for 22 yards and followed with a 19-yard run to the Trojans 24. A pass interference penalty by Jaylin Smith while trying to cover Jackson moved the ball to the 10.

“If you’re matched up with him one-on-one, he does a good job of, it’s his ball, it’s a PI or it’s an incompletion,” Brosmer said. “… Those penalties help a lot.”

Brosmer scored three plays later on a 5-yard option keeper that opened when the USC defense keyed on Taylor.

“It was a cool feeling seeing my teammates right behind me at the moment and knowing that we’re keeping ourselves in the game and continuing to finish the football game,” Brosmer said.

The Gophers defense made another stop, forcing USC to punt with 7:08 left. Twelve plays later, Brosmer emerged from the scrum with his third TD and a 24-17 lead.

Minnesota had some work still to do, and it wasn’t totally seamless. After Moss threw an incomplete pass on second-and-10 from the USC 25 with 45 seconds left, Gophers cornerback Justin Walley was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for pantomiming the brandishing of a weapon at his midsection. USC, which had no timeouts remaining, had two gains of 16 yards to reach the Gophers 28 with 14 seconds left.

Moss tried to hit a receiver in the end zone, but Perich leaped to intercept the pass.

“I know he was throwing it to the 6-6 guy [Duce Robinson], but I just had to go up and make a play,” Perich said.

In the end, the Gophers made enough plays so they could celebrate with the field-stormers.

“That was awesome,” Perich said. “I was in the middle and I don’t know who lifted me up, but I could see everybody on the field at the same time. That was one of the coolest moments of my life.”