The Gophers also know a bit about late-game drama.

After a bye week, they will look to build on the momentum that began with a near miss at Michigan, where they rallied from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter before falling behind 27-24. The following week they saved their season by defeating then-No. 11 USC 24-17 via quarterback Max Brosmer sneaking inside the Trojans’ 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal.

Then they beat UCLA 21-17 at Rose Bowl Stadium, rallying from a 10-0 halftime deficit and scoring the game-winning points on Brosmer’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter .

“There’s a lot of confidence,” Gophers offensive tackle Quinn Carroll said. “We’re proud of that, even going into January when we did a tough workout with (strength and conditioning coach Dan Nichol). We say, ‘You know, this is what matters when it comes to fourth place against USC.’ That scenario just happened by accident.”

Brosmer has led six fourth-quarter touchdown drives in the last three games, a performance that has boosted team confidence. He will take advantage of these rewarding moments, but knows that a team cannot survive on them alone.