Gophers vs. Maryland game has been quietly pivotal in recent years

Gophers vs. Maryland has been quietly pivotal in recent years. This is no exception.

The Gophers have seen seasons swing based on the outcome of this game, and Saturday's homecoming matchup pits two hungry 4-3 teams.

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

October 25, 2024 — 10:52pm

Minneapolis and College Park, Md., are roughly 1,100 miles apart, but the Big Ten football programs in the two cities are practically joined at the hip.

When the Gophers and Maryland meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium for Minnesota's homecoming, it'll mark the seventh meeting between the teams since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014. That's the most-played matchup for the Gophers against a team from the now-defunct East Division, with Michigan and Rutgers tied for second with four meetings vs. Minnesota in that span.

It's not only frequency that's made the Gophers and Terrapins quasi-rivals. It's also what the game has meant to each team when they've played. In 2017 — coach P.J. Fleck's first year at Minnesota — the Terrapins won 31-24 in Minneapolis, and the defeat started a 2-7 slide that left the Gophers with a 5-7 record and sitting at home for bowl season.

Three years later, Maryland prevailed 45-44 when the Gophers missed an extra-point attempt in overtime. That loss was pivotal as Minnesota finished with a 3-4 record in a season shortened by COVID-19.

Saturday's matchup features teams with 4-3 records highlighted by upset victories over USC. Both the Gophers and Terrapins need two more victories to reach bowl eligibility, and the path to that status is especially difficult for Maryland, which still must travel to No. 1 Oregon and No. 3 Penn State and play host to Iowa.

Fleck sees the similarities and credits Maryland coach Mike Locksley for rebuilding a program that's posted back-to-back 8-5 records and has won three consecutive bowl games. Fleck's focus, though, was preparing his team to avoid lapses in consistency that have hurt in losses to North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan.

"We both have the same record this year, both have similar type games we've been in," Fleck said. "But we've got to play our best football. I can't worry about what they're thinking. I have to worry about what our team can do. And they're a really good football team, and I know it's a big game for both teams."

Upsets fuel upswing

Maryland made sure this game would have added meaning by beating USC 29-28 in dramatic fashion last week. The Terrapins scored the final 15 points, with their winning touchdown coming with 53 seconds left, five plays after Donnell Brown blocked a 41-yard field-goal attempt by USC's Michael Lantz.

"We didn't get voted off the island this week," Locksley said, referring to the difference between being 4-3 and 3-4.

The Gophers know a bit about late-game drama, too.

Coming off a bye week, they'll try to build on a surge that started with a near-miss at Michigan, where they rallied from 21 points down in the fourth quarter before falling 27-24. The following week, they saved their season by knocking off then-No. 11 USC 24-17 on Max Brosmer's quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal inside the Trojans 1-yard line.

Then they edged UCLA 21-17 at Rose Bowl Stadium, rallying from a 10-0 halftime deficit and scoring the winning points on Brosmer's 4-yard touchdown pass to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

"It brings a lot of confidence," Gophers offensive tackle Quinn Carroll said. "We pride ourselves on that, even going back all the way to January when we were going through a tough workout with [strength and conditioning coach Dan Nichol]. We're saying, 'You know, this is what it's going to come down to when it's fourth-and-goal against USC.' We just so happened to have that scenario come up."

Sprinting to the finish

Brosmer has led six fourth-quarter touchdown drives over the past three games, a feat that's built confidence within the team. He'll take those rewarding moments but knows a team can't live on that alone.

"Balancing two halves of football is difficult sometimes," Brosmer said. "We'd like to be better earlier in the game. Our message during practice, during the offseason and now, is finish. You can't control what you've done in the past."

A victory would pull the Gophers within one game of reaching bowl eligibility and open the potential to keep rewriting the season's narrative. They travel to No. 20 Illinois next week and visit Rutgers on Nov. 9.

After their second bye, they face Penn State at home on Nov. 23 and finish the season at Wisconsin six days later. Reaching seven victories or more could boost their chances of landing at a postseason destination warmer than Detroit.

The five-game sprint to the finish starts Saturday against Maryland, a team that's chasing the same goals as the Gophers.