The Minnesota Golden Gophers pulled off their biggest win since 2019 on Saturday evening at Huntington Bank Stadium, defeating No. 11 USC 24-17 thanks to two fourth quarter touchdown drives and a game sealing intereception from star freshman Koi Perich.
Below, Gophers Nation gives five takeaways from the Gophers 24-17 win.
1. Darius Taylor bounces back from Iowa and Michigan peformances
After a pair of quiet games against Iowa (10 carries, 34 yards) and Michigan (13 carries, 36 yards), Taylor had a major day against USC with 200 total yards from scrimmage with 144 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards. It was Taylor's best performance of his sophomore season thus far and just the second time in five games that the Michigan native eclipsed the 100+ rushing yards mark. The performance on national television against a ranked opponent in USC was a good reminder to the nation that Taylor is among the nation's best tailbacks.
2. Gophers run defense trending in the wrong direction
It was obviously a huge upset victory for the Gophers but that being said there are some potential concerns that remain coming out of the win. The Trojans rushing attack averaged 6.2 yards per carry which included star running back Woody Marks averaging 6.7 yards per carry, totaling 134 yards on 20 carries. It's the second time in three weeks that the Gophers run defense has done so. The Gophers started the season strong against the run, allowing just 3.6, 1.4, and 1.9 yards per carry over their first three weeks but since then have struggled. They'll face a weak rushing team next week in UCLA.
3. Brosmer remains calm, cool, and collected
The lights continue not to be too bright for Max Brosmer. It wasn't a huge day for him by any means but the New Hampshire transfer was efficient throughout the day, completing 15-of-19 passing attempts for 169 yards. He also had seven rushing attempts for 14 yards and three touchdowns in the win. In the fourth quarter, Brosmer was especially good, completing 5-of-6 passing attempts for 64 yards. In six games this season, Brosmer has completed 60% or more of his passes in five games and has completed 65% or more in the games including each of the least two.
4. Koi Perich continues to make impacts
It's another week and another game in which Koi Perich has continued to make impacts. After a long punt return last week against Michigan that helped set up a Gophers touchdown, Perich had the game sealing interception on Saturday night. The Esko, Minnesota native stepped in front of a Miller Moss pass in the endzone in the final seconds to ensure the victory for the Gophers. The interception wasn't Perich's only impact on the night, the true freshman could be seen throughout the field in the win, collecting six tackles including five solo tackles.
5. The Gophers secondary is legit
The biggest question about the Gophers secondary through five games was 'how real is the secondary?'. After all, the Gophers pass defense through those first five games didn't face any overwhelming passing attacks. On Saturday, they got their biggest challenge yet in the Trojans featuring a potential future NFL quarterback in Miller Moss and a talented wide receiver room. The Gophers passed with flying colors.
Moss was kept to just 23-for-38 in the game for 200 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Trojans most dangerous wide receivers in JaKobi Lane and Zachariah Branch were kept silent. Lane had just two receptions for 13 yards while Branch was kept to three receptions for 10 yards. The Gophers defense as a whole also had eight pass breakups in the win including four from Justin Walley alone.
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