Gophers football beats Maryland 43-23 in home win

“We just made sure we came out with momentum and executed our plays,” Spencer said in a KXFN radio interview after the game. “We knew what we had to do.”

What it means Four weeks ago, the Gophers were 2-3 after a 27-24 loss at Michigan, a controversial result because a successful onside kick recovery by Minnesota was ruled offside. Since then, the Gophers have beaten then-No. 11 USC 24-17, picked up a 21-17 victory over UCLA at Rose Bowl Stadium and now defeated a high-scoring Maryland team with relative ease. Another win will secure them bowl eligibility, but they're certainly aiming for more than just that.

Game play There were several candidates, including linebacker Maverick Baranowski's fourth-down stop on Terps running back Roman Hemby on Maryland's first possession. But this one goes to Walley's pick-six. It gave the Gophers a 21-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter and thrilled a crowd that was already enjoying the afternoon.

Turning point After Maryland cut the Gophers' lead to 31-10 with 28 seconds left in the first half, Minnesota got the ball at the 35 after the Terps' kickoff went out of bounds. Brosmer quickly found tight end Jameson Geers, who made a jumping catch for a 23-yard gain to the Maryland 35 with 16 seconds left. After a spike and an incompletion, Brosmer hit Jackson down the sideline for a 19-yard gain to the 16 with seven seconds left and set up Dragan Kesich's 34-yard field goal for a 34-10 lead. Coupled with the Gophers' TD early in the third quarter, the Terrapins were done.

34 First half points for the Gophers, the most they have scored in the first half of a Big Ten game since they scored 35 points in a 55-14 win over Iowa on Nov. 8, 2014.