Gopher Justin Walley read the quarterback, jumped the route and took his interception to the end zone putting the Gophers up 21 points in the first quarter. Minnesota never looked back in a 48-23 win.
Students and alumni were met with sunny weather as they packed the Huntington Bank Stadium stands on Saturday to watch their Gophers play in their annual homecoming game, where the Gophers pounced all over Maryland going 21-0 in the first 11 minutes.
Minnesota headed into the week with just 12 first-quarter points through seven games. Daniel Jackson’s touchdown was the first for the Gophers in the first quarter all season, having struggled to start games through eight weeks.
Maryland came out firing with a long-developing play-action pass to the Big Ten’s leading receiver Tai Felton for 26 yards. The Gophers’ defense forced a fourth-and-one and defensive back Kerry Brown filled the gap making the tackle short of the line to gain.
Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer and company fed off the momentum and used their downfield passing game to attack the Maryland secondary.
Brosmer found wide receiver Jackson twice on the drive, the second for a 10-yard touchdown handing Minnesota an early lead in the first quarter. The Gophers quarterback finished the drive 3-for-3 for 47 yards and a touchdown.
During Minnesota’s next drive, Brosmer found Jackson on an out, and he turned upfield. As Jackson went to the ground, Maryland’s defensive back Judah Jenkins hit Jackson head on leading to Jenkins’ disqualification from the game.
Brosmer lofted a ball over a defender into the hands of Elijah Spencer to give Minnesota a two-score lead 10 minutes into the game. The Gophers quarterback ended the first two offensive drives 9-for-11 for 99 yards and two touchdown passes.
Brosmer said there is one key to having explosive plays on offense.
“The number one thing is we got down to the basics of execution, we really attacked the small details,” Brosmer said. “It really takes all four or five of those receivers to open one guy up and that’s what happened today.”
Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.’s second pass was behind the intended target and Gophers Walley jumped the route and ran it to the house.
Minnesota took a 21-point lead into the first quarter break. This is the first time the Gophers led by more than six points after 15 minutes this season.
“We came out attacking, not that we don’t come out attacking all the time but the attack plus the execution,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said.
Edwards Jr. stayed rattled as he overthrew a pass over the middle and Minnesota’s Koi Perich caught his fifth interception. Perich used his instincts as a returner to take it back 45 yards to Maryland’s 23-yard line.
The freshman defensive back did his dance, the viral “Bring the Boom” celebration, popularized by the TikTok stars Big AJ and Big Justice.
“Yeah, we’ve been kinda doing that this week,” Gophers defensive back Jack Henderson said about the dance. “It’s to no surprise.”
The Gophers’ offense finally cooled off as the Terrapins got a stop and kicker Dragan Kesich nailed a 40-yard field goal giving Minnesota a 24-point lead.
A roughing the passer penalty on Gopher Deven Eastern kickstarted Maryland’s drive. The Terrapins moved deep into Minnesota territory, but the Gophers forced a short field goal keeping their three-touchdown advantage.
Brosmer found Jackson, to open the drive for 17 yards. Minnesota picked up another chunk play down the field to Spencer 28 yards to the Maryland 10-yard line.
Jackson broke open on an underneath crossing route across Brosmer’s face as Bromer put the ball on him allowing Jackson to walk into the end zone for his second touchdown opening up a 31-3 point lead.
The Terrapins mounted a sustained drive to the Gophers’ three-yard line. After a Minnesota timeout, Edwards Jr. took a read-option keeper into the end zone right before halftime.
Brosmer put together a six-play, 49-yard drive to end the first half, but not before Kesich hit a 34-yard field goal.
The 34-point first half for the Gophers was led by Brosmer’s 208 passing yards with three passing touchdowns and Jackson’s eight catches for 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
“The members and the playmakers that we have on the team is being showcased a lot more than it was compared to last year,” Jackson said.
A soul-snatching drive out of halftime put together by the Gophers’ offense put it out of reach for the Terrapins. A broken coverage in the Maryland secondary left Spencer wide-open for his second touchdown catch increasing the lead to 31 points.
The Gophers tacked on another touchdown on a 51-yard rumble by Darius Taylor and cruised to a 48-23 win over the Terrapins.
Minnesota travels to No. 20 Illinois next weekend. The Illini are coming off a 38-9 shellacking by the No. 1 Oregon Ducks.