A quarterback with a hot hand will do wonders for a football team. And when that’s combined with the opponent’s quarterback in a giving mood, a blowout win might be in the works.
Max Brosmer’s 320 yards stoke Gophers to 48-23 homecoming victory over Maryland
Saturday’s victory improved the Gophers to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, making them one win from reaching bowl eligibility.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 26, 2024 at 11:15PM
That’s what transpired Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, where a homecoming crowd of 48,696 saw the Gophers romp 48-23 over Maryland, an outcome sparked by Max Brosmer’s brilliance and Minnesota’s defense feasting on the miscues of Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.
Brosmer completed 26 of 33 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Gophers to a 34-10 halftime lead. During that first half, Gophers cornerback Justin Walley jumped a route, intercepted an Edwards pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. True freshman phenom Koi Perich got into the act from his safety position, picking off Edwards and returning it 45 yards to set up a Gophers field goal.
The victory improved the Gophers to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, making them one victory from reaching bowl eligibility with four games left to play. Maryland fell to 4-4 and 1-4 as Edwards completed 19 of 35 passes for 201 yards and no touchdowns with the two interceptions.
Wide receivers Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer were Brosmer’s favorite targets. Jackson caught nine passes for 117 yards and two TDs, while Spencer caught six passes for 99 yards and two TDs.
Gophers running back Darius Taylor got off to a slow start but finished with 15 carries for 81 yards, with 51 coming on a fourth-quarter TD run. He also caught five passes for 34 yards.
Why it Happened The Gophers, who entered the game with only 12 first-quarter points this season, found a way to sprint from the opening kickoff. Minnesota’s defense forced a turnover on downs on Maryland’s first possession, and Brosmer hit Jackson for a 10-yard touchdown pass and 7-0 lead with 10:45 left in the first quarter. On the next possession, Brosmer threw a 7-yard TD pass to Spencer to make it 14-0. Then Walley’s interception return for a TD made it 21-0 with 4:25 left in the quarter.
“We just made sure we came out swinging, executing our plays,” Spencer said in a KXFN postgame radio interview. “We knew what we had to do.”
What it Means Four weeks ago, the Gophers were 2-3 after a 27-24 loss at Michigan, a controversial result because a successful onside kick recovery by Minnesota was ruled offsides. Since then, the Gophers beat then-No. 11 USC 24-17, pulled out a 21-17 win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl Stadium and now dispatched a high-scoring Maryland team with relative ease. One more victory gains them bowl eligibility, but they’re certainly striving for more than just that.
Play of the Game There were several candidates, including linebacker Maverick Baranowski’s fourth-down stop of Terps running back Roman Hemby on Maryland’s opening possession. But this one goes to Walley’s pick-six. It put the Gophers up 21-0 with 4:25 left in the first quarter and ignited a crowd that was already enjoying the afternoon.
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Turning Point After Maryland had cut the Gophers’ lead to 31-10 with 28 seconds left in the first half, Minnesota got the ball at the 35 after the Terps kickoff went out of bounds. Brosmer quickly found tight end Jameson Geers, who made a leaping catch for a 23-yard gain to the Maryland 35 with 16 seconds left. After a spike and an incompletion, Brosmer hit Jackson on the sideline for a 19-yard gain to the 16 with seven seconds left, setting up Dragan Kesich’s 34-yard field goal for a 34-10 lead. Coupled with the Gophers’ TD to start the third quarter, the Terrapins were cooked.
Key Stat
34 Points in the first half for the Gophers, the most they’ve scored in the first half of a Big Ten game since they had 35 in a 55-14 victory over Iowa on Nov. 8, 2014.
MVP Max Brosmer, Gophers
The quarterback was sizzling from the start, completing 18 of 23 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and finishing 26-for-33 for 320 yards and four TDs. Brosmer relied heavily on Jackson, who had eight catches for 102 yards and two TDs at halftime.
Up Next at No. 20 Illinois, Saturday, Time, TV TBD
The Gophers are on the road for three of their final four games, beginning with a trip to Illinois, which fell to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten with its loss at No. 1 Oregon. The Fighting Illini own a three-game winning streak against Minnesota, all under coach Bret Bielema. The former Wisconsin coach has yet to lose to the Gophers, going 7-0 against them in his time as Badgers coach. Last year, the Illini won 27-26 on John Paddock’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Williams with 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
