Gophers lose to North Carolina on missed field goal, but there were bigger reasons than one kick

There was plenty about which to be curious regarding the Gophers football team entering its season opener against North Carolina on Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.

How would the offense look under new quarterback Max Brosmer?

Would running back Darius Taylor be back from a training camp hamstring injury?

Would the defense be improved under new coordinator Corey Hetherman?

The answers the Gophers supplied in front of an announced 50,805 – thinned by the afternoon thunderstorms that prompted officials to delay kickoff for an hour – added up to a 19-17 loss to North Carolina.

Minnesota had its chances to win right to the end, when Dragan Kesich’s 47-yard field-goal attempt as time expired sailed wide right.

Kesich, you remember, nailed a 47-yard walk-off kick to beat Nebraska in last year’s opener on his way to being named Big Ten kicker of the year. Thursday wasn’t his night because he also missed a 27-yard attempt early. Coach P.J. Fleck and his teammates were quick to rally behind him.

“It’s team loss,” Fleck said. “North Carolina made one more play than we did.’’

Added linebacker Cody Lindenberg, “None of that game’s on him. There’s plenty of plays defensively, offensively, special teams.”

Instead, it was North Carolina’s Noah Burnette with the winning kick, a 45-yarder with 1:44 to play and his fourth made field goal of the night.

The debut of Brosmer, the graduate transfer from New Hampshire who’s taken over the offensive reins, was front and center Thursday night, and it was a mixed bag. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 166 yards but didn’t have a touchdown pass or interception. The Gophers, though, had five drives that resulted in three-and-outs and another in which Brosmer fumbled away the ball that led to a North Carolina field goal.

Still, the quarterback drove Minnesota to a go-ahead field goal, at 17-16, with 3:40 to play and had the Gophers in position to win it on the last play.

“You have to, as an offense, want the ball on your hands to win the game,” Brosmer said. “And I thought the guys did a really good job rallying together.”

Fleck saw the Gophers as not being sharp enough in all phases of the game.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that happened tonight that are uncharacteristic of our football team – some penalties in some crucial situations,’’ Fleck said. “A lot of them are hustle mistakes, the ones that cost us the most. And I can live with those things, but it’s the other things that really kind of bite us.”

The Gophers were playing without Taylor, who led the team in rushing as a true freshman last year and who suffered a hamstring injury on Aug. 13. In his place, the Gophers relied on Marcus Major, a transfer from Oklahoma who rushed 20 times for 73 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

“We had a lot of mistakes that we can’t make,” Major said. “We’re gonna come back from this. We’re gonna be better.”

Fleck said Taylor was “was really close to being out there” but said the medical staff didn’t clear him to play, which the coach supported. “I know he was disappointed, and he really wants to go.”

The Gophers looked flat to begin the game but got a big spark from their defense in the second quarter, when Justin Walley intercepted Max Johnson and raced for a 70-yard return, setting up a TD run for Major.

But the game changed in the third quarter when North Carolina rode tailback Omarion Hampton, a 1,500-yard rusher in 2023. The Tar Heels received the third-quarter kickoff and drove 70 yards in 17 plays to cut the Gophers’ 14-7 halftime lead to 14-10.

After Minnesota went three-and-out, UNC marched 49 yards in 12 plays to make it 14-13. A third Burnette field goal, after a Gophers three-and-out, gave UNC a 16-14 lead with 9:05 left in the fourth.

Hampton rushed 30 times for 129 yards, including 11 times for 74 yards in the second half.

“Omarion is a really good tailback,” Fleck said. “I think when we’re going back through the film, we’ll see we missed a lot of tackles.’’

In the end, the Gophers had a couple of chances to pull out a win.

Before taking a 17-16 lead on Kesich’s 30-yarder with 3:40 left, the Gophers got a key play when Brosmer found Le’Meke Brockington for an 18-yard gain, but Brockington fumbled and the ball popped into the hands of Major, who raced another 20 yards to the North Carolina 10. Minnesota couldn’t punch it in, missing a chance.

And after Minnesota’s defense gave up a 13-yard run to Hampton and a 32-yard hookup from backup QB Conner Harrell to J.J. Jones that led to the go-ahead kick for the Tar Heels, Brosmer drove the Gophers for a shot to win.

A pass interference penalty on North Carolina and a 20-yard pass to Elijah Spencer got the ball to the UNC 40. Jackson caught an 8-yard pass, and a 9-yarder to tight end Jameson Geers and a 4-yard run by Jordan Nubin set up Kesich’s would-be winner.

“That’s the type of game you wish you could play 60 more minutes because it’s such a great game,” Fleck said.