Gophers conclude winning season with 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech in Duke’s Mayo Bowl

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Darius Taylor was discussing the College Football Playoff with a reporter on Thursday during a media gathering for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, and he mentioned the play of Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, who had a monster game in the Peach Bowl that included a halfback option pass for a touchdown.

“You got one of those halfback passes in you tomorrow?” Taylor was asked.

“Naaah!” Taylor responded with a chuckle.

Turns out, he wasn’t tipping his hand.

The sophomore from Detroit got the Gophers offense going with a halfback option pass for a 10-yard touchdown to Elijah Spencer in the second quarter of a 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night at Bank of America Stadium. Taylor added a 28-yard TD run, 113 rushing yards on 20 carries and four receptions for 17 yards.

The victory also brought the spoils for Gophers coach P.J. Fleck, who was eager to have a bucket of Duke’s Mayo dumped on his head, the bowl’s signature moment for the winning coach.

“Make it a double,” Fleck said in his postgame radio interview on KFXN-FM. “If they want, make it a triple.”

With his players watching intently, Fleck raised his hands in triumph as he was doused, the mayonnaise covering his entire head. He then hugged Goldy to cover the mascot in mayo as well.

Moments earlier, a smiling Fleck embraced rapper Flavor Flav after it was revealed the 65-year-old was in fact the celebrity hiding beneath the costume of bowl mascot Tubby. “Yeahhhh, boyyy!” Fleck said, duplicating Flavor Flav’s iconic phrase.

“That was a very unique experience,” a cleaned-up Fleck said at his postgame news conference. “But I told my players, if they had 15 tubs of those, I would have done all 15. It’s worth it to be a champion at the end of the year, and it’s one of the great traditions of bowl games.’’

The Gophers finished the season with an 8-5 record and stretched their nation’s-best bowl winning streak to eight games. The past five of those have come with Fleck as coach. Virginia Tech fell to 6-7.

Spencer, a senior from Irmo, S.C., who transferred to Minnesota from Charlotte, had a happy homecoming in his final collegiate game. He earned bowl MVP honors after catching six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

“Elijah had an opportunity to be the No. 1 and step into his role,” Fleck said, mentioning clean-up procedures that kept Daniel Jackson out of the game. “Being in the Queen City, being in Charlotte, meant a lot to him. And I thought that showed in his preparation.”

Said Spencer, who estimated he had 26 friends or family members among the 31,027 in attendance: “To hear that we’re coming to Charlotte to play in this bowl game, I saw this opportunity. There was nothing stopping me from going out there and taking what was mine.”

Quarterback Max Brosmer finished his Gophers career on a high note, too. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown with an interception. And he made his final pass as a Gopher a memorable one.

Facing fourth-and-1 from the Virginia Tech 43 with 2 minutes left, the Gophers lined up in the tush-push formation. Instead of sneaking the ball, Brosmer dropped back and lobbed a pass to tight end Jameson Geers for a 20-yard gain. Two victory formation kneel-downs later, and the Gophers had the victory.

“A lot of us stayed on the field to soak it in a little longer together,” Brosmer said. “I couldn’t be more lucky than with a team like this.”

Brosmer also lobbied for offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. to include freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey in the team’s plans. “I told Coach Harbaugh, ‘Hey, I’m not playing unless I get a package with Drake,’ ” Brosmer said. “He made a five-play package, and we got three or four of them in.”

Throughout the game, Taylor was a constant the Gophers could rely on, grinding out tough yards with the team missing three starting offensive linemen. His 28-yard touchdown run put the Gophers up 21-7 with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.

“We had a talk before the game, and I’m saying, ‘You’re going to have to play one of your best games,’ ” Fleck said. " ‘You’re really going to have to be there for the O-line and lift them up and really help some of those guys who haven’t played a ton.’ … Darius did a great job tonight.”

The defense was on point, too. The Gophers finished with five sacks, including two by defensive back Jack Henderson and one each from ends Danny Striggow and Anthony Smith. Virginia Tech managed only 20 rushing yards on 17 first-half attempts.

“We always like to be aggressive,” Henderson said. “… We figured out the blitz game was working, so we kept blitzing all game. We love that style. That’s the type of energy we feed off.”

BOXSCORE: Gophers 24, Virginia Tech 10

That especially paid off in the fourth quarter. Trailing 24-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Hokies got a 47-yard run from Keylen Adams and eventually reached the Minnesota 16. But Gophers safety Kerry Brown broke up a fourth-down pass to end a threat.

With Virginia Tech knocking again at the Gophers 5 following a Brosmer interception, Henderson dropped QB William “Pop” Watson for an 8-yard loss, and cornerback Za’Quan Bryan followed with a tackle for loss and a fourth-down interception.

The Gophers offense drained the final 4:24, setting the scene for their coach’s mayo bath and rousing celebration.

“That’s what makes college football really special,” Fleck said, “and that’s what makes it really fun.”