MADISON, WIS. - P.J. Fleck celebrated his 44th birthday Friday. The Gophers football coach proved that a coach can change with age.

Fleck vowed to evolve his offensive philosophy this season, to make his scheme more balanced, to find a passing game after largely ignoring it.

Status quo wasn't an option. Deep down, Fleck had to know it.

So he changed.

The evolution in approach was never more apparent or rewarding than what played out at Camp Randall Stadium on Fleck's birthday.

The quarterback he entrusted shrugged off frigid temperatures and swirling winds to deliver an efficient, surgical performance in a 24-7 dismantling of the Wisconsin Badgers.

Afterward, Fleck and Max Brosmer shared a warm embrace in the middle of the victory lap celebration with Paul Bunyan's Axe. Call it a Bro(smer) hug.

"I had to change," Fleck said.

Fleck noted that he passed the ball with success as head coach at Western Michigan and joked that a reporter — me — would have called as many running plays for Mohamed Ibrahim as he did.

But Brosmer was the right quarterback at the right time for a head coach who knew he couldn't mess up when he went to the transfer portal to find a quarterback last offseason.

"We had to be right," Fleck said.

They were. Brosmer became one of the Big Ten's most efficient passers, and the Gophers offense morphed into something previously unthinkable under Fleck: a pass-first attack.

The Gophers finished the regular season with more pass attempts than runs, allowing Brosmer to etch his name among all-time program leaders in a handful of single-season statistical categories.

Credit Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. for identifying Brosmer in the portal and trusting that his talent and intangibles would translate as he made a jump from the FCS level to higher competition.

Fleck joked that his only hesitancy came when New Hampshire's coaching staff enthusiastically promoted their quarterback to him, something he's never experienced in the transfer portal.

"At one point, I looked at the staff and said, 'Guys, are we sure they're not overselling?'" Fleck said. "Because as a head coach, you're pretty paranoid."

One of the enduring images from the forgettable 2023 season happened in the finale against Wisconsin. Facing a critical third down in the second half, Athan Kaliakmanis airmailed a third-down pass to his target, Elijah Spencer.

The passing game was broken. Fleck lost faith in the entire operation, not just in one player. Fleck turned to the portal for help and hit the mark with Brosmer, but the coach had to be willing to change, too.

Fleck called it a "perfect marriage."

His quarterback agreed.

"Having a staff that fully trusts you is a really cool feeling," Brosmer said. "It's not 100 percent normal all the time to have that in college football nowadays. It's absolutely amazing that I ended up in this spot. I got pretty lucky. There are a lot of guys that transferred that didn't get as lucky. I couldn't have found a better place with this team."

The conditions weren't favorable for passing Friday, but Brosmer looked unaffected. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns before the offense milked the clock with the running game in the fourth quarter.

Brosmer had perfect placement on a 37-yard completion to Daniel Jackson on a deep throw down the sideline that set up the first touchdown.

He completed 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards on the first drive of the second half that ended with another touchdown for a 21-0 lead. That felt like a dagger, given the Badgers' ineptitude on offense.

The difference in quarterback play between the teams was stark. Wisconsin's Braedyn Locke, a backup to start the season, threw errant passes left, right and down the middle.

Brosmer has committed to play in the bowl game, so he has just one game left with the Gophers. The only bummer in the relationship is that he didn't get multiple seasons in Dinkytown.

"He's one of the most special people I've ever been around," Fleck said.

Brosmer made the program better in one season. He helped the head coach change, too. Their embrace on the field as the Axe was being carried toward the locker room underscored what Fleck said needed to happen. He got the quarterback decision right.