Max Brosmer throws a season-high 4 TD passes as Minnesota defeats Maryland 48-23 for its third straight win

MINNEAPOLIS – Max Brosmer threw two of his season-high four touchdown passes early, Justin Walley added a pick-six and Minnesota scored three touchdowns in the first quarter to easily beat Maryland 48-23 on Saturday.

The Gophers, who won three straight (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), had nine catches for 117 yards and two scores from Daniel Jackson. Elijah Spencer added a pair of touchdown receptions as the Gophers scored their most points in a conference game since beating the Terrapins 52-10 on October 26, 2019.

Maryland (4-4, 1-4) has lost three of four games and dug itself a deep hole heading into this game.

Six plays after Maryland was stopped on fourth down of its opening series, a 10-yard pass from Brosmer to Jackson put Minnesota on the scoreboard, its first touchdown on the opening drive of the season.

Brosmer to Spencer gave the Gophers a 14-0 lead, a lead that increased to 21-0 just 38 seconds later when a miscommunication between quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and his receiver resulted in a ball going straight to Walley who tackled the interception 32 yards untouched into the end zone.

Minnesota has allowed just five passing touchdowns this season and entered the game with 13 interceptions, which is the second-most in the country behind James Madison's 15.

Koi Perich added his third interception in the last two games, increasing his conference-high total to five, the most ever by a Minnesota rookie, and is now just two picks shy of the program's single-season record.

With a Big Ten-best 301.9 passing yards per game average, the Terrapins finished the game with 323. Edwards was 19 of 35 for 201 yards in three quarters against the fourth-ranked defense in the country. MJ Morris was 7 of 8 for 122 yards and the game was well out of reach. Tai Felton, who has a Big Ten-best 73 receptions, caught nine balls for 104 yards.

Brosmer was 26 of 33 for 320 yards for Minnesota. He neither made an interception nor was sacked.

Darius Taylor scored a 51-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 48-10.

Maryland: His passing game is more than adequate, but the Terrapins need to find an offensive balance. Partly due to the lopsided score early on, Maryland ran just 25 times for 104 yards. It averaged 121.1 yards per game, ranking 102nd among FBS schools.

Minnesota: Perich has already proven to be one of the most dynamic players of the eight-year PJ Fleck era. The Esko, Minnesota native returned his interception 45 yards and had two punt returns for 27. He is averaging 15.1 yards on 11 punt returns this season.

Maryland: Top-ranked Oregon on November 9th.

Minnesota: Next Saturday at No. 20 Illinois.