USC has encountered unwelcoming hosts in its first two road games as a member of the Big Ten. The No. 11 Trojans fell to Minnesota 24-17 on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Quarterback Max Brosmer drove into the end zone on fourth down inside the 1-yard line for the winning touchdown with 56 seconds left. Initially, the referees ruled that Brosmer did not cross the goal line. But after watching replays, the call was overturned.
Replay giving Minnesota the touchdown justified what could have been a controversial decision by head coach P.J. Fleck to pass up a go-ahead field goal.
“It wasn’t very difficult,” Fleck said of his fourth-down decision after the game. “Put it in the hands of the players and usually you are never disappointed.”
Going for the touchdown seemed even smarter when USC drove 47 yards in 39 seconds. But Miller Moss was intercepted by Koi Perich in the end zone with 17 seconds left to seal the Golden Gophers’ victory. Perich, a freshman safety, had two interceptions in the game.
Darius Taylor led Minnesota with 138 yards rushing on 22 carries, and added 56 yards on five receptions. With Taylor being so effective, all Brosmer had to do was be efficient and complete 15 of 19 passes for 169 yards. But on the ground, he scored Minnesota’s three touchdowns among his seven carries for 14 yards.
USC also had a strong running game, led by Woody Marks’ 134 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Moss completed 23 of 38 passes for 200 yards with a score and two interceptions. Kyron Hudson caught five passes for 54 yards.
Coach Lincoln Riley could circle his team’s eight penalties, which cost them 59 yards, as the reason for the loss after another display of undisciplined play.
The Trojans fall to 3-2 on the season, losing road games at Michigan and Minnesota while beating Wisconsin in the conference.
Minnesota gets its first Big Ten win of the season after back-to-back losses to Iowa and Michigan. The record is now 3-3, although two of those losses were by three or fewer points. Gophers fans stormed the field after the biggest win of Fleck’s eight seasons in Minneapolis.
“I told you we were the best 2-3 team in the country.” Fleck said on Big Ten Network. “Our team is determined; we’ve been through so much. We’re resilient. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Next up for USC is a home game against No. 7 Penn State (5-0). Minnesota travels to UCLA (1-4).
