As Gophers fans reveled on a warm Southern California night, P.J. Fleck took questions in a cramped room under the Rose Bowl stands. His Gophers football team had just defeated UCLA 21-17 on a touchdown in the game’s final 30 seconds, and the coach wore both the look of achievement and relief.
“I mean, we need a bye. I’ve never met a bye at a wrong time,’’ he said. “We are beat up. We are held together by tape, bubble gum and straw.’’
Fleck and his Gophers have the first of two byes this week — the other is Nov. 16 — and with it comes a chance to recover, reset and recruit. They enter the break with a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 Big Ten mark boosted by a sweep of the California teams. Both Saturday’s result and the 24-17 win over then-No. 11 USC on Oct. 5 required fourth-quarter comebacks. Either game could have pivoted the other way, making for a lost season, but the tape, bubble gum and straw held together just enough against the Trojans and Bruins to re-energize the fan base.
Just where the Gophers go from here will in large part be determined by the three-week stretch that is bookended by the two bye weeks. Starting with the Oct. 26 home game against Maryland and continuing with trips to Illinois on Nov. 2 and Rutgers on Nov. 9, the Gophers face three teams that pretty much reside in their weight class.
The Terrapins (3-3, 0-3) have lost two in a row and are host to USC on Saturday. The Fighting Illini (5-1, 2-1) are ranked No. 22 in the AP poll but play No. 24 Michigan and No. 2 Oregon over the next two weeks and just gave up 49 points to lowly Purdue. The Scarlet Knights (4-2, 2-1) mustered only one touchdown each game in back-to-back losses to Nebraska and Wisconsin.
That’s not to say those contests are gimmees for the Gophers, who’ve had four of their five games against FBS opponents decided by seven points or fewer. Minnesota’s road back from a 2-3 start to bowl eligibility will require two more wins, and the team has shown that it can both hang with defending national champion Michigan in the Big House and also dig itself a 10-0 hole against 1-5 UCLA.
What’s trending well for the Gophers as of late is what happens when a graduate transfer senior and a true freshman phenom get the football in their hands.
Quarterback Max Brosmer engineered the comeback wins over USC and UCLA and nearly led the Gophers back from a three-TD deficit in a 27-24 loss at Michigan. He’s been at his best in the fourth quarter, leading six touchdown drives in those three games.
