Max Brosmer found his rhythm and so did the Gopher offense.

The quarterback threw for 271 yards and two scores in three quarters, Minnesota had three touchdown drives of at least a dozen plays, and the Gophers routed Rhode Island 48-0 on Saturday at sun-soaked Huntington Bank Stadium.

Brosmer connected with 10 different receivers and finished 24 for 30. Three of the incompletions were drops, and he was not intercepted.

On the heels of a 19-17 loss to North Carolina nine days prior, Minnesota’s talent advantage was evident on both sides of the ball against an FCS foe. By the time they pulled Brosmer, the Gophers had 348 yards of offense to Rhode Island’s 108.

And that became truer with their most dynamic playmaker returning to the starting lineup.

Sophomore running back Darius Taylor, a late scratch from the opener having suffered a leg injury in practice, ran for 64 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for another 48 yards.

As a freshman standout last season, Taylor ran for 799 yards and five touchdowns in six games, including a 208-yard performance in the Quick Lane Bowl, but missed seven games due to injuries.

A late-first quarter/early-second quarter scoring drive showed what Minnesota fans are expecting from Brosmer and the Gophers offense. The New Hampshire graduate transfer, who led the FCS in passing yards per game last season (313.5), methodically led a 13-play, 83-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard run by Taylor for a 10-0 lead.

Deftly using second and third reads, Brosmer completed 7 of 9 passes in the 6-minute, 33-second drive. The two incompletions were drops by Le’Meke Brockington and Jameson Geers. Six different Gophers caught passes; five receptions were between 11 and 18 yards.

An 85-yard drive later in the quarter was more of a ground-and-pound attack mixed with a couple timely throws.

Taylor ran for 16 yards to open the 14-play trek and later took a swing pass 16 yards. A 9-yard pass to Marcus Major moved the ball to the 9, and Major scored from the 2 three plays later.

A Rhode Island fumble set the Gophers up for prime points at the Rams’ 19 with 1:12 remaining in the half, but a Brosmer scramble lost four yards, and after an incompletion, Brosmer was sacked for a 14-yard loss. A 55-yard field goal attempt by Dragan Kesich was no good.

Defensively, the Gophers largely held Rams dual-threat quarterback Devin Farrell in check to shut out an opponent for the first time since beating Rutgers 31-0 in October 2022.

Farrell finished 6 of 18 for 76 yards and ran for just nine. In Rhode Island’s 20-17 week one win over Holy Cross, the Virginia Tech transfer was 20 for 33 for 287 yards and two TDs and was the Rams’ leading rusher with 54 yards.

The Rams turned the ball over three times: interceptions by Aiden Gousby, Koi Perich and Jack Henderson.

Cristian Driver caught a pass in the right flat and went in untouched for a 6-yard score — the 12th play of a nearly 7-minute drive — for a 24-0 lead midway through quarter three.

A beautiful fade pass to Brockington went for a 29-yard score late in the quarter. Henderson returned an interception 25 yards for a fourth-quarter score.

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