Gophers
Bold moves by P.J. Fleck and his staff, plus key moments from QB Max Brosmer and freshman Koi Perich add up to an upset of USC.
By Randy Johnson
As crowd-surfing goes, P.J. Fleck might not have had his best takeoff, leaping a bit short and needing his players to boost his legs a bit before they could toss him airborne like a rag doll during the Gophers’ postgame locker room celebration.
Twenty minutes or so earlier, Max Brosmer emerged from a scrum of his teammates and Southern California defenders with a touchdown and the decisive points — after a replay review reversed an initial ruling — on a fourth-down tush-push quarterback sneak inside the Trojans 1-yard line.
And 15 minutes after that, Koi Perich sat atop a mass of humanity that stormed the field at Huntington Bank Stadium, taking in the revelry from a spot as lofty as he occupied when he leapt to make the game-sealing interception with nine seconds left.
Together, Fleck, Brosmer and Perich played starring roles in the Gophers’ 24-17 upset of No. 11 USC on Saturday night in front of an announced 50,913.
The victory not only ended a six-game Big Ten losing streak for the Gophers, it also rewarded Fleck and his coordinators for some bold decisions; demonstrated what a cool, efficient leader Brosmer can be; and showed off a budding star in Perich.
“My pregame speech was 10 seconds, ‘Let it rip!’ That’s it. That’s all I told them,” Fleck said. “And they did. They let it rip.”
If ever there was an example of a fan base immediately falling in love with a player, it’s Gophers fans with Koi Perich. The true freshman from Esko, Minn., had them at “hello” because as the state’s top recruit, he stayed true to his verbal commitment to Fleck and the Gophers and said “no” to Ohio State when coach Ryan Day came calling to northern Minnesota last December.
Perich has combined immediate productivity with a flair for the dramatic.
Perich quickly worked his way onto special teams in training camp, and he’s turned punt returns from a “do-no-harm” situation to a weapon that flips field position. His 60-yard return at Michigan set up a fourth-quarter touchdown, and he already has six punt returns for 135 yards this season for a team that returned only 11 punts for 55 yards all of last year.
Against USC, Perich’s impact came at safety. He forced a second-quarter fumble that ended a USC threat at the Minnesota 26. Perich also made six tackles and ended the Trojans’ final threat with his leaping interception in the end zone with nine seconds remaining.
“I just had to go up and make a play,” Perich said.
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As a graduate transfer, Brosmer has only one year to make an impression at Minnesota, and on Saturday, he delivered the Gophers’ first upset of a top-15 team since they beat No. 9 Auburn in the Outback Bowl following the 2019 season.
Brosmer rushed for three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter as the Gophers turned a 17-10 deficit into a 24-17 lead. He also went 15-for-19 passing for 169 yards.
Over the past two weeks, the Gophers had five fourth-quarter possessions. Brosmer led them to touchdowns in each of them — three in the 27-24 loss at Michigan and two Saturday. In those two fourth quarters, he’s a sizzling 15-for-22 for 164 yards and a touchdown. Had the umpire not ruled the Gophers offside when they recovered an onside kick at Michigan with 1 minute, 37 seconds left, they might have had upsets of both the Wolverines and Trojans.
“To finish that game like that, it means the world to me,” Brosmer said. “I’m so proud of my team to finish that way.”
Fifty-nine seconds left. Tied 17-17. Facing fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line after a QB sneak just came up short. That’s what Fleck had to consider Saturday. He didn’t hesitate in going for the touchdown instead of kicking a go-ahead field goal.
“It was a big call, but it’s an easy call,” Fleck said, later adding. “It’s not very often that you’ve got a quarter of a yard against USC to beat a top-12 team in the country, and you’re tied.”
The bold move worked out for Fleck, who had faced mounting criticism from fans after last year’s 6-7 record and a 2-3 mark to start the 2024 season. That top-10 finish in 2019 — Minnesota’s best since 1962 — was fading in the minds of some. Fed some success, they wanted more.
Saturday, they got it.
“Put the ball and the game in the hands of the players, and let them go win it for themselves,” Fleck said. “And they did.”
Randy Johnson covers University of Minnesota football and college football for the Star Tribune, along with Gophers hockey and the Wild.
Gophers Football Insider: Bold moves by P.J. Fleck and his staff, plus key moments from QB Max Brosmer and freshman safety Koi Perich, add up to an upset of USC.
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Gophers Football Insider: Bold moves by P.J. Fleck and his staff, plus key moments from QB Max Brosmer and freshman safety Koi Perich, add up to an upset of USC.
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