The Gophers beat the Virginia Tech Hokies 24-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday behind 113 yards and a touchdown from running back Darius Taylor.
Wide receiver Elijah Spencer was named the MVP of the game due to his six receptions, 81 yards and two touchdowns.
The Gophers had seven players sitting out, most of which have NFL-aspirations. Wide receiver Daniel Jackson, offensive linemen Aireontae Ersery, offensive lineman Tyler Cooper, linebacker Cody Lindenberg, defensive tackle Jah Joyner and defensive back Justin Walley sat out due to the upcoming NFL draft.
Running back Marcus Major and defensive back Darius Green sat out due to injury.
Heading into the game quarterback Max Brosmer was eight completions away from setting the Gopher record for completions in a single season. He entered the game with 350 completions, 2,617 yards, and a 17:5 touchdown to interception ratio. He also had five rushing touchdowns.
After a 7-5 regular season featuring multiple one-score losses for the Gophers, it ended with yet another bowl win.
The game was expected to be a defensive battle, Minnesota entered the game as the 10th-ranked defense and the Hokies entered as the 39th.
Head coach PJ Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. decided to have some fun early in the first quarter, running three plays that featured two quarterbacks, Brosmer and freshman Drake Lindsey.
Lindsey is expected to have an opportunity to earn the starting job next season, the bowl game gives the coaching staff a few opportunities to see the freshman play.
After a defensive stand by the Hokies inside their own 10-yard line, a big play by the Virginia Tech wide receiver Ayden Green put them inside the Gophers five-yard line. Hokies quarterback Colin Schlee ran in the first touchdown of the game.
On the next possession, Harbaugh continued with the trickery, setting up a play for running back Taylor to throw a 10-yard touchdown to Spencer.
“When I lined up, I’m reading it all, and I’m like ‘Oh man this is going to work,’ I started foaming at the mouth,” Spencer said. “It all just played out perfectly… shoutout to DT (Darius Taylor).”
Later in the second quarter, Brosmer tied the Gophers’ completions record by throwing Spencer his second touchdown of the game. On the next drive, he broke the record.
The Gophers went up two scores after a 58-yard drive that ended with a Darius Taylor touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
Minnesota led 21-10 at the half. Hokies kicker John Love finished the half by making a 60-yard field goal.
Taylor led the team with 67 rushing yards on seven attempts and a passing touchdown for 10 yards. Brosmer finished the half with 126 yards, a touchdown and a Gopher record.
The Gophers defensive aggression continued into the second half, earning their fourth sack of the game and forcing the Hokies to punt once again.
The third quarter was slow for both teams, no points and a couple of punts later the Gophers entered the third quarter with a 11-point lead.
The Gophers were stopped on third down early in the fourth and settled for three.
Virginia Tech picked up 47-yard on a reverse play to Keylen Adams, but the drive quickly ended after a red zone turnover on downs.
After the turnover, the Hokies tipped a pass and brought down an interception. The interception marked their 12th out of 13 games with a turnover.
They couldn’t take advantage of the good field position and turned the ball over on fourth down, throwing an interception to Gophers defensive back Za’Quan Bryan.
On the final drive of the game, Taylor broke 100 yards for the fifth time this season.
Brosmer connected with Jameson Geers on fourth down to seal the game.
In Duke’s Mayo Bowl fashion, Fleck was doused in Duke’s mayo after the game.
During the postgame press conference, he emphasized his appreciation for the mayo bath tradition.
“If they had 15 tubs of those, I would have done all 15,” Fleck said. “It’s worth it to be a champion at the end of the year.”
