What We Learned About the Minnesota Gophers in Program Changing Win vs USC

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NCAA Football: Southern California at Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Gophers took home a huge victory vs the USC Trojans on Saturday night, and it’s likely most fans don’t fully grasp how important of a win it really was for PJ Fleck’s program.

Not only would a loss have moved the Gophers to 2-4 on the season, entering their early bye week, but it would have pretty much buried their hopes at playing in a bowl game season hopes and put Fleck squarely on the hot seat heading into the offseason.

But, that’s not what happened. Instead, Minnesota found the running game that they have been missing since last season ended, and QB Max Brosmer had by far the most efficient performance of his one-year Gophers career. Oh, and we have a new superstar playing safety. You may have heard of him, Koi Perich, out of Esko, MN?

What we learned about the Minnesota Gophers vs USC

NCAA Football: Southern California at Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Combine their effective offensive performance with a defense that was just good enough, in part thanks to Perich’s breakout performance, and the Minnesota Gophers walked out of Huntington Bank Stadium as 24-17 winners vs the No. 11 ranked team in the country.

Instead of a PJ Fleck hot seat, we got PJ Fleck in his feelings, after the victory. Now, the Golden Gophers are 3-3 and go into the bye with a ton of momentum. Here’s what we learned about the 2024 Minnesota football team on Saturday night.

1. The run game is back and Darius Taylor is still HIM

We’ve waited all season, but it finally showed itself tonight. The Minnesota Gophers running game is back. After coming into Saturday as the 114th team in the country in rushing yards per game, the Gophers put up a whopping 194 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.

All three touchdowns were scored by Max Brosmer, two via the tush push and one when he pulled on an option and ran in untouched. But the star of tonight’s contest on offense was the star sophomore running back.

After carrying the ball just 48 total times through the first five games, and just 23 in the last two, Darius Taylor got 25 carries vs USC and looked like his old self doing it, gashing the Trojan defense for 144 yards, at 5.8 yards per pop.

But it wasn’t just Taylor’s ground game that was impressive this weekend, he was also Minnesota’s leading receiver, catching 5 passes from Max Brosmer for 56 yards. Both were team highs.

We knew, coming into the year, that the Gophers had one of the best running backs in the Big Ten, but he and the offensive line had yet to really show it. That is no longer true, after Saturday night.

2. Max Brosmer is still the difference

There isn’t going to be a lot of talk about Max Brosmer’s day. Yes, he ran in three touchdowns. Scoring on two tush pushes is great, for the 7 people nationally who play college fantasy football. But his passing yardage was low, at just 169 yards and 0 touchdowns.

It’s not the classic passing numbers that impress you about Max Brosmer’s day, though. It’s the efficiency of which he ran Minnesota’s offense. Yes, he didn’t even reach 170 yards through the air, but he completed 15 of his 19 passes on the night. That’s a 79% completion percentage, for those wondering.

And it’s Max who gets the offensive line setup and into their blocking scheme. After just a few months in the Minnesota Gophers program, it’s Max who often calls the final play, as it best suits what defense he sees. So we may not see it on the stat sheet, but a lot of last night’s offensive efficiency can be credited to Max Brosmer.

Related: Gophers Upset #11 USC with 2nd Half Comeback Sealed by Koi Perich Interception

You want to know what else can be credited to Brosmer? PJ Fleck’s newfound love for aggressiveness. He went for it on 4th down twice vs USC, in the 4th quarter. Both times, I can confidently say that the majority of coaches around the country would have punted the first time and kicked the field goal the 2nd time.

Especially with less than a minute left to play and the lead just a chip shot field goal away. But because he has Max Brosmer, Fleck went with a last second tush push, and the Gophers won because of it.

3. Minnesota defense still struggling vs run, but Koi Perich has arrived

The Minnesota Gophers offensive line may have fixed itself, to a large degree, vs the USC Trojans. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the defensive line. Creating pressure on USC QB Miller Moss wasn’t the problem, but for yet another week, the Gophers defense struggled mightily to stop the opposing rushing attack.

USC piled up 173 rushing yards, on the night, moving them to No. 66 in the country against the run, allowing 137.2 rushing yards per game. After watching the Minnesota defense suffocate opposing rush attacks for years, it’s difficult to watch this 2024 group give up yardage in chunks, but that has been the reality.

Related: PJ Fleck Got Emotional Following Minnesota Gophers Win vs USC

Luckily, Corey Heatherman’s group has been much better against the pass. Prior to USC’s final drive of the game, the Gophers had allowed the Trojans just 153 yards through the air. Trying to deny a touchdown, they gave up 47 yards on that final minute, allowing Moss to march USC’s offense down the field. That was until true freshman Koi Perich ended the evening with one of the best interceptions in Minnesota Gophers history.

Moss threw a deep ball over the middle of the field, where Perich rose up over the USC WR and another Gopher defender to snag the ball out of mid-air and seal his hometown team its biggest victory since 2019. Perich also grabbed 6 tackles, which tied for third-most on the Gophers. He forced a momentum changing fumble earlier in the 2nd half, too.

Bonus: University of Minnesota still knows how to party

Then, after one quick kneel-down to complete the upset, we found out another thing we haven’t learned since 2019. The Minnesota Gophers crowd still knows how to rush the field and party.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Might Use Koi Perich on Offense…?

During Max Brosmer’s postgame radio interview, a crowd of thousands gathered around him, to a point where you could not see him and KFAN sideline analyst Justin Gaard in the middle of the mob. A moment that nobody in Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday night will ever forget.

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