Quick Lane Bowl Recap: Minnesota vs Bowling Green, Final Score, What Happened, What It All Means

Quick Lane Bowl Recap: Minnesota 30, Bowling Green 24

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Quick Lane Bowl What Happened

- Bowling Green came out hot with a 46-yard touchdown catch from Odieu Hilare on the first drive, Minnesota responded, Bowling Green got a late first half field goal, and the MAC was up 10-9 going into halftime. And then …

- Minnesota’s offensive line took over. The Golden Gophers pounded away, RB Darius Taylor ripped off good run after good run, and the tenor of the game shifted. The Gophers scored 14 straight on a short touchdown run from QB Cole Kramer and another short scoring pass, but Bowling Green wouldn’t go away.

- The Falcons kept throwing and pulled within six in the fourth, but once again, Minnesota’s ground game took over with Taylor ripping off a 17-yard touchdown for the game-winner.

The Falcons got back in the end zone in the final minutes, but had to burn all their timeouts, the Gophers recovered the onside kick, and knelt it out.

Quick Lane Bowl Player of the Game

Darius Taylor, RB Minnesota
Taylor ran 35 times for 208 yards and a score, and led the team with 11 receiving yards on two catches.

Quick Lane Bowl What It All Means

- And that’s why the Big Ten is the Big Ten. When Minnesota needed to take over, it cranked up the ground game with its beef on the offensive front, and there wasn’t anything Bowling Green could do about it. This was a flawed Golden Gopher team - it still finished the year with a losing season after catching a break coming into this at 5-7 - and the defense had a hard time closing it out in the fourth, but …

- That’s the fifth straight bowl win for Minnesota under PJ Fleck, and as a program, it was the seventh straight bowl victory after losing the 2014 Florida Citrus. Minnesota might not be going to Rose Bowl every year, but it has its niche - the school wins bowl games.

- Bowling Green was missing some parts, it was run over and pushed around, and it still made it a one score game late. Even with the bowl loss, it was still the first winning season since 2015 and the second straight bowl appearance after years of absolutely nothing working. It took a while to get going under Scot Loeffler, but the program has improved in each of the last four years.

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Quick Lane Bowl Key Stats

- Rushing Yards: Minnesota 255, Bowling Green 82

- Time of Possession: Minnesota 33:22, Bowling Green 26:13

- 4th Down Conversions: Bowling Green 2-of-3, Minnesota 1-of-1

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