At first, Gophers’ quarterback Max Brosmer was short of the goal line.
Then the call was overturned.
Brosmer took the snap and lunged into center Greg Johnson, but USC’s defense stopped the initial push. A second effort and some help from his teammates allowed Brosmer to break the plane and score the go-ahead touchdown putting Minnesota ahead 24-17 in the fourth quarter.
Freshman defensive back Koi Perich sealed the victory with an interception on the goal line that sent fans to rush the field.
Fleck told Perich he would develop on the field and this type of game was what Fleck envisioned for the freshman.
“(Perich) always thinks he’s getting an interception,” Fleck said. “He’d be all 11 if he could … I give him a lot of credit. He could have went a lot of different places. Again, we’re not the highest bidder, but he loves the state of Minnesota.”
Perich said when the fans hoisted him up after the game on the field, it was one of the coolest moments of his life.
Momentum shifted with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
USC drove into the Gophers territory and Gophers defensive lineman Jah Joyner flew around the edge, slashing at USC quarterback Miller Moss’ arm, causing the ball to float in the air right to Gophers linebacker Devon Williams for an interception.
Joyner said he thought the offensive tackle moved early and wanted a false start but did not get the call.
“I thought it was a good move by me. I knew I could beat him off the edge all day,” Joyner said. “So, (I was) able to get my hand up and deflect the pass.”
After a holding penalty pushed the Gophers back, a defensive pass interference reignited the drive, making it first-and-goal. A read option saw Brosmer keep it for the first time this season and walk into the end zone for a touchdown, tying the game at 17.
An intentional grounding penalty helped Minnesota stop the Trojans and send the Gophers’ offense back onto the field.
Minnesota’s drive was jump-started after USC linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold body-slammed Perich into the turf, causing a penalty.
Brosmer found Le’Meke Brockington for 22 yards on the drive’s first play. The Gophers then turned to running back Darius Taylor to run the clock to the two-minute timeout.
The Gophers rushed four times reaching the half-yard line, but were stuffed on third-and-goal.
Brosmer made his way into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the night after a lengthy review.
“Putting the fate of the team on the back of the o-line and what they did the whole game was absolutely incredible,” Brosmer said.
The Gophers quarterback said it was the first time he scored three rushing touchdowns and there was a lot of weight on both sides of him under the pile.
Moss launched a deep pass over the middle, and shades of Penn State’s Sean Clifford’s last-second interception to Jordan Howden in 2019 showed as Perich skied into the air to seal the win.
Saturday’s win played out like a game of cat and mouse that saw both teams take the lead and give it away. The Gophers played most of their games against Power Four teams from behind this season.
After back-to-back punts to start the game, Minnesota played smash-mouth football, rushing on seven of the eight plays leading to the opening score of the game, a Dragan Kesich field goal. Minnesota’s first points came from the Serbian Hammer four times this season.
USC responded with a methodical 15-play, 75-yard drive, manipulating the Gophers’ defense. Moss found USC wide receiver Duce Robinson wide-open in the end zone for a touchdown to give the Trojans the lead.
Taylor dominated Minnesota’s third drive, including a 40-yard burst down the sideline where a defender pulled his facemask and outran a safety to the edge. The ground game was too much for the Trojans, and Brosmer punched it in via the brotherly shove, 10-7 Minnesota.
Perich, coming off a 60-yard punt return against Michigan, forced the first fumble of his career and Ethan Robinson recovered, handing the ball back to Minnesota.
Taylor fumbled, giving it right back to USC, which led to USC’s Michael Lantz drilling a 54-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 as time expired in the half.
The Gophers scored 14 straight points in the second half to seal their first Big Ten win of the season, snapping a six-game losing streak in conference play.
Taylor finished the game with 200 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries and caught five passes for 56 yards.
“Tonight, my o-line was doing a great job. My tight ends were getting up to that second level,” Taylor said. “If that happens and we’re clicking on all cylinders, I can just be me and make those plays for the team.”
The last time Minnesota beat a top 15 AP-ranked team was No. 14 Wisconsin in 2021 and, coincidentally, the last time the Gophers stormed Huntington Bank Stadium.