The Gophers struggled to move the ball in the first half but bounced back in the second half to defeat UCLA 21-17 on Saturday.

As the clock drew to a close in the fourth quarter, Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer led his team inside the five-yard line and found an open Darius Taylor in the flat for a walk-in touchdown to take a 21-17 lead with 31 seconds left.

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said Brosmer went through four reads and the offensive line gave him time to find Taylor for his third receiving touchdown of the season after not catching his freshman year.

The Gophers’ slow start to the game was not unusual for them. The team rushed for 26 yards on 13 carries totaling 84 yards in the first half, meaning they needed to play catch up and have a truthful conversation from Fleck.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a team like that at halftime,” Fleck said. “It was real honest to every single position group.”

Brosmer said the speech delivered by his head coach at the half challenged the team.

“It was more of that was not our best 30 minutes of football,” Brosmer said.

Fleck knew his team understood his message when UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers’ final Hail Mary was intercepted by Gophers freshman Koi Perich for his second pick of the game to seal a Gophers win.

The pick marked Perich’s fourth interception of the season, handing him sole possession of the freshman interception record at Minnesota.

“It means a lot honestly to be on top of that with all the NFL safeties that have come through here,” Perich said. “It’s pretty cool. But I got to give credit to everybody, especially the coaches, they put me in the right spots.”

The Gophers started the second half down 10-0. The Gophers picked up 46 yards on their first five plays of the third quarter. Brosmer found a wide-open Elijah Spencer on a coverage bust by UCLA for a touchdown, cutting their deficit to three points.

Minnesota’s momentum continued as Garbers threw off his back foot late to wide receiver Moliki Matavao, but Perich dove in front for his first interception of the day.

Brosmer looked to feast off the energy by taking a deep shot to Daniel Jackson and was awarded with a pass interference call making it first-and-goal. Moments later, Taylor broke through the UCLA defense on his third rush giving the Gophers a 14-10 lead.

UCLA responded when Garbers launched for his receiver, J.Michael Sturdivant, who beat Gopher Ethan Robinson for a 42-yard touchdown and reclaimed a three-point lead for UCLA.

Minnesota’s offense was unfazed on the road as Brosmer led his troops down the field for a go-ahead score with under a minute remaining.

As time expired Perich picked off Garbers near the goal line on a Hail Mary.

Because the Gophers dug themselves a hole in the first half with a stagnant offense and leaky defense, it came down to the final play.

Minnesota tripped over themselves dropping two passes on the opening drive forcing a three-and-out.

UCLA came out firing with Garbers who picked apart the Gophers’ defense on the first drive. Bruins running back Keegan Jones capped off the drive punching it in for a touchdown.

A sense of hope illuminated for the Gophers when defensive lineman Deven Eastern batted a throw from Garbers. The ball was intercepted by Cody Lindenberg.

The Gophers’ defense supplied a struggling offense that went scoreless in the first quarter for the fourth time in seven games with the ball. Minnesota has scored 3 points against their five Power Four opponents in the first 15 minutes. 

Following back-to-back punts, the Gophers’ offense had 32 yards through three drives and picked up 47 yards on its fourth, leading to a 43-yard field goal attempt. Dragan Kesich pulled it wide right for his sixth miss in 13 attempts.

UCLA ended the first half with the upper hand at 10-0 at halftime. The first time the Bruins led at halftime all season.

Fleck’s speech spurred a second-half comeback that helped Minnesota surpass .500 for the first time since its week three win over Nevada, now a 4-3 overall record.

Taylor said the team was aided by the 12,000 Gophers fans in Pasadena, California.

“It was a great feeling,” Taylor said. “It was kind of like a home game away from home.”

Saturday’s win for the Gophers marked their first game at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium since 1962 when they defeated UCLA 21-3 in the Rose Bowl.