DETROIT – In winning their previous four bowl games under coach P.J. Fleck, the Gophers used a bruising running game and a clock-draining offensive approach in three of them. They averaged more than 46 carries and 241 yards on the ground in triumphs over Georgia Tech in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl, Auburn in the 2020 Outback Bowl and West Virginia in the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The one outlier was the Pinstripe Bowl last year, when the Gophers rushed for only 77 yards in a win over Syracuse.
On Tuesday in the Quick Lane Bowl, the Gophers went back to their tried-and-true formula, beating Bowling Green 30-24 at Ford Field as true freshman running back Darius Taylor, a Detroit native, rushed 35 times for a career-high 208 yards and a touchdown. Taylor was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
In winning their fifth consecutive bowl game under Fleck and seventh in a row overall, the Gophers (6-7) amassed 255 yards on 44 carries and ate 33:22 off the clock, compared with 26:38 for the Falcons (7-6).
“We were able to get the running game going and got some stops in defense,” Fleck said in a postgame radio interview.
Taylor, who missed the previous five games because of a leg injury, was especially effective in the second half, when he carried 19 times for 132 yards.
Fifth-year quarterback Cole Kramer, making his first and only start as he prepares for his post-football life, completed eight of 16 passes for 26 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a TD. Wide receiver Elijah Spencer and tight end Jameson Geers caught TD passes.
“It’s been so surreal,” Kramer said. “I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak completed 22 of 38 passes for 221 yards and a TD and rushed for a TD. Wideout Odieu Hiliare caught 10 passes for 152 yards and a TD.
Bowling Green wasted no time taking a 7-0 lead, getting a 12-yard pass from Bazelak to Hiliare, a 17-yard run by Jamal Johnson and a 46-yard touchdown pass from Bazelak to a wide-open Hiliare with 1:13 expired in the first quarter. On the TD pass, coverage broke down in the Gophers secondary, and the closest player to Hiliare was cornerback Justin Walley about 5 yards away.
The Gophers responded by driving 75 yards in 13 plays, cutting the Falcons’ lead to 7-6 on Kramer’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Spencer with 5:56 left in the first quarter. The Gophers tried a trick play for a two-point conversion, with kicker Dragan Kesich rolling to his left and looking for tight end Nick Kallerup in the end zone. Kesich faked the pass and lunged toward the end zone but came up just short.
On the drive, which lasted 7:51, Taylor rushed eight times for 43 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards. Key was his 5-yard run on fourth-and-2 from the Bowling Green 11.
Behind Bazelak, the Falcons kept the pressure on the Gophers secondary, which was missing starting safeties Tyler Nubin and Darius Green. Bowling Green drove to the Minnesota 34, but the Gophers defense forced three incompletions by Bazelak, the last on fourth down.
The teams traded punts on the next two possessions before Kramer showed his athletic ability, escaping pressure in the pocket, seeing a wide-open middle of the field and sprinting 31 yards to the Bowling Green 26. After Taylor gained 11 yards to the 15, the drive stalled when Kramer threw incomplete to Corey Crooms Jr. on third-and-8 from the 13. Kesich’s 31-yard field goal gave the Gophers a 9-7 lead with 8:57 left in the second quarter.
Bowling Green, which ranked second nationally with 27 turnovers forced entering the game, got a big turnover to help take the lead late in the first half. Kramer dropped back on first down, looking to throw deep. He was hit by linebacker Cashius Howell while releasing the pass, and the ball fluttered into the hands of free safety Darius Lorfils, who returned it 28 yards to the Minnesota 15.
The Gophers defense didn’t let the Falcons into the end zone, but Alan Anaya’s 33-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the half gave Bowling Green a 10-9 lead.
Minnesota opened the third quarter like they did the first — getting the ball in the hands of Taylor, and that helped the Gophers take control of the game.
Taylor carried seven times for 56 yards on an 11-play, 78-yard drive that Kramer capped with a 1-yard touchdown run on a tush push keeper with 9:20 left in the third quarter. Jordan Nubin added a 21-yard run to the Bowling Green 17 as all 78 yards on the drive came on the ground.
Minnesota’s defense clamped down on the Falcons, with Jah Joyner posting his second sack of the game and forcing a punt. Quentin Redding returned the punt 27 yards to the Bowling Green 27.
Taylor went to work again, carrying four times for 14 yards, with a 6-yard Nubin gain sprinkled in. On third-and-2 from the Falcons 7, Kramer hit tight end Jameson Geers for the touchdown and 23-10 lead with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
The Gophers outgained Bowling Green 117-6 in the third quarter, but the Falcons quickly remedied that.
The Falcons started the fourth quarter with a 42-yard run to the Gophers 38 by PaSean Wimberly and got a 13-yard pass from Bazelak to Hiliare to the Minnesota 13 on fourth-and-3. Wimberly then ran 18 yards for a touchdown on a sweep, cutting the Gophers lead to 23-17 with 11:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Gophers responded with another big play on special teams — a 51-yard kickoff return to the Falcons 48 by Le’Meke Brockington.
From there, the Gophers kept pounding away, and Taylor, taking a direct snap as the Wildcat quarterback, ran 17 yards up the middle for a touchdown and 30-17 lead with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter.
Bowling Green cut the lead to 30-24 on Bazelak’s 2-yard run with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter. Crooms recovered the ensuing onside kick with 2:32 left. After a 10-yard gain by Taylor, the Gophers went into victory formation three times, ending the game.