Max Brosmer threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, Darius Taylor ran for 113 yards a TD and also threw for a score, and Minnesota extended its bowl winning streak to eight with a 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Elijah Spencer had six catches for 81 yards and two TDs for the Golden Gophers (8-5). They improved to 6-0 in bowl games under coach P.J. Fleck, who got the bowl’s traditional mayo bath after the game.
Backup quarterback Collins Schlee ran for a touchdown and Ayden Greene had six catches for 115 yards for the Hokies (6-7). They’ve lost five of their last six bowl games.
The Golden Gophers outgained the Hokies 403-223.
With Minnesota up 24-10, Dante Lovett intercepted Brosmer to give the Hokies the ball at the Minnesota 15 and a last chance at a comeback midway through the fourth quarter. But the Hokies couldn’t convert as Za’Quan Bryan intercepted William Watson’s pass in the end zone, essentially sealing the game with 4:24 remaining.
Schlee and Watson split time at quarterback for Virginia Tech, with neither eclipsing 100 yards passing.
The Hokies failed to pick up a first down in three series under Watson, so coach Brent Pry switched to Schlee on the ensuing possession and he provided instant offense with a 67-yard strike to Greene to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run.
But the Hokies couldn’t sustain the momentum.
Minnesota rattled off 21 consecutive points behind Spencer, a transfer from Charlotte, who hauled in a 10-yard halfback option pass from Darius Taylor and a 12-yard TD toss from Brosmer over the middle on back-to-back possessions. Taylor then made it 21-7 when he raced around left end on a 28-yard run.
Celebrity mascot
Word leaked out during the game that there was a celebrity serving as “Tubby,” the bowl game’s mascot which resembles a large yellow-and-white mayonnaise jar. It turns out to be hip-hop artist (and superfan from the 2024 Summer Olympics) Flavor Flav, with his identity being revealed shortly after the game.
Bowl-record boot
Virginia Tech’s John Love made a bowl-record 60-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry received a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter when he raced down the sideline to about the 15 — well outside of the coach’s box — to argue a call with the officials.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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