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It was a game that was essentially over by halftime, the Golden Gophers finding themselves up 34-10 by the midway point. The Gophers' offense moved the ball through the air at will, while the defense got in on the scoring themselves with a Justin Walley 32-yard pick-six.
Fast starts at times have been a struggle this season for the Gophers; that was not the case on Saturday afternoon. The Gophers, in the first half, held Maryland to just 4-for-11 in converting third and fourth downs.
After forcing a Maryland turnover on downs to open the game, the Gophers quickly cashed in on strong field position, going 58 yards on five plays before Max Brosmer found Daniel Jackson for his first passing touchdown of the day to give the Gophers a 7-0 lead within the first five minutes.
The fast start for Minnesota saw the Gophers' offense score on each of their first three drives, with Max Brosmer finding Elijah Spencer with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter to make it a 14-0 game. Justin Walley's pick-six made it a three-score game just over 30 seconds later. It was the first of back-to-back drives for the Gophers' defense that resulted in interceptions for Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards, who, entering the game, had just four interceptions on the season.
Dragan Kesich added a 40-yard field goal early in the second to make it a 24-0 game.
Maryland broke through on the scoreboard on their sixth drive of the game with a 33-yard field goal. It was answered swiftly by another long scoring drive for the Gophers, this time with Max Brosmer leading the Gophers 75 yards on eight plays before connecting with Daniel Jackson for his second touchdown of the day.
The Terrapins answered with a touchdown of their own before Dragan Kesich made his second field goal of the day right before halftime, sending the Gophers to the break with a 34-10 lead.
The second half was not nearly as eventful as the first half for the Gophers, though still a quality 30 minutes of play. The Gophers nearly matched their total yardage output from the first half in the second half with 220 total yards, including 108 rushing yards -- a significant uptick from the mere 15 yards they were able to total in the first half on 11 carries.
The Gophers would start off the scoring in the second half in similar fashion to their first drive, with Elijah Spencer on the receiving end of a 25-yard touchdown pass from Max Brosmer. It was the second receiving touchdown of the day for Spencer.
Darius Taylor added an exclamation point to the game with a 51-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to make it a 48-10 game. Maryland would find the end zone twice in the final 15 minutes, but these served merely as morale boosters for the Terrapins as they prepare for a long flight back to College Park.