Make it seven straight for the Gophers.
T’was the afternoon following Christmas that Minnesota extended its streak of postseason victories, beating Bowling Green, 30-24, in the Quick Lane Bowl from Detroit. The win also extends the Gophers’ record in this bowl to 3-0.
Minnesota (6-7) running back Darius Taylor led the way for his team, rushing 35 times for 208 yards and a touchdown to earn bowl MVP honors. Taylor had missed seven games during the 2023 season due to injury.
“We relied heavily on Darius tonight,” said Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck. “That’s 35 carries for 208 yards. He had eight weeks off, ten weeks off — whatever its been. That’s okay. You can give him 35 carries because its really an average of 3.5 carries over the last 10 weeks. … that’s what was required tonight.
“As we move into 2024, we’ve got have some other backs step up and step in whether they’re young, whether they’re transfers — and hopefully build a nice stable of backs so it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Bowling Green receiver Odieu Hiliare (1) is stopped by Minnesota defenders on Tuesday in Detroit during the Quick Lane Bowl. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
Both teams came out hot in the first, making for an interesting opening period. On Bowling Green’s (7-6) first drive of the game, running back Jamal Johnson went for a 17-yard first down run after a pitch toss from quarterback Connor Bazelak. The very next play, the Golden Gophers defense left Odieu Hiliare wide open for a 46-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the game, putting the Falcons on top, 7-0.
Minnesota was prepared to get those points back and tie the ball game up on their first drive. Driving down the field, Minnesota found itself in a 4th down situation and instead of taking the easy 3 points, they went for it and succeed. Three plays later, quarterback Cole Kramer throws to the corner of the endzone to Elijah Spencer for the touchdown. This is where it got interesting. Instead of tying the game with the extra point, Fleck and the team go for the 2-point conversion and fail.
Only a couple of field goals were made in the second quarter.
First, one was made by Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich for 31 yards, taking the Golden Gophers to a 9-7 lead. Their defense was holding up pretty well, not allowing Bowling Green to complete much offense for a majority of the second quarter; that is until the Falcons defense came up with a huge interception after hitting Cole Kramer in the backfield. The Gopher defense came up big again, not allowing the Falcons to move the ball after the interception and forcing them to kick the field goal. A 33-yard attempt by Falcons kicker Alan Anaya put them up 10-9. After getting the ball back with 1:38 left until half-time, Minnesota failed to move the ball well and was forced to punt.
Bowling Green elected to take a knee with a one point lead going into halftime.
Minnesota, having won the coin toss before the game and deferring, had possession to start the second half.
Taking the ball all the way down the field, Kramer runs the ball in on a 3rd-and-goal play for the touchdown. The extra-point attempt was good, giving the Gophers a 16-10 lead. First down after first down made this an easy score.
The second half saw the Falcons struggle offensively while the Gophers defense proved stout.
“We felt like we could control the line of scrimmage, it was just a matter of time until we felt like we could,” Fleck said following the game. “No disrespect to them, but they’re rotating a few bodies in there at times but maybe not as much as we see on a weekly basis.”
Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck (left) and Darius Taylor hold up the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl championship trophy. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
They held the Falcons to negative yardage on their first drive of the quarter and were able to force a punt to receive the ball back. Six plays and 27 yards later, tight-end Jameson Geers gets the touchdown pass from Kramer. Minnesota takes a 13 point lead going up 23-10 with 4:13 left in the third.
Wide receiver Hiliare was the bright spot for Bowling Green. In the first half alone, he accounted for 104 of their 140 total yards. In the second half, he continued to account for their deep passes. He finished with 10 receptions for 152 yards.
Bowling Green made the most of their third offensive possession in the second half, going 41 yards on a run to the Minnesota 39 yard line. This is what the Falcons needed to fire up their offense but the Gopher defense had other plans, holding them to make a 4th-down attempt. Connor Bazelak threw the ball 13 yards to — who else — Hiliare. Two plays later, Falcons get a touchdown after an 18 yard run from PaSean Wimberly. The point after attempt is good and brings the Falcons within six.
Minnesota got the ball back to midfield after a 47 yard kickoff return by Le’Meke Brockington. Five plays later, Minnesota goes back up big after a 17 yard run by Taylor, putting them up 30-17 with 8:03 left in the game.
With 5:14 left, Bowling Green is faced with another 4th-down attempt. This time, nothing changed. Pass complete to Hiliare for the first down to keep the Falcons hopes alive. Another big gain by Hiliare pushed the Falcons to a first-and-goal, looking to get within one score with under three minutes left. After a pass interference call against Minnesota and using their third timeout, the Falcons get back to within a score after a quarterback run play by Bazelak. The point after attempt is good, bringing the score to 30-24 Golden Gophers with 2:33 left.
An onside kick attempt is no good after Minnesota grabs the ball. A ten yard run for a first down and the Gophers go into victory formation, bringing the Big Ten Conference to 2-0 in bowl games this season.
