MINNEAPOLIS _ You can add another category into the list of firsts P.J. Fleck's inaugural season as Gophers football coach.
His first loss.
The Gophers fell, 31-24, to Maryland on Saturday afternoon in front of 43,511 at TCF Bank Stadium as mistakes piled up, injuries and absences took a toll, and Minnesota couldn't get a defensive stop when needed.
Ty Johnson's 31-yard touchdown run with 1:10 left provided the winning points after the Gophers had tied the score with 3:54 left.
The loss in the Big Ten opener dropped the Gophers to 3-1 overall and showed how thin a margin for error this team has.
Gophers quarterback Conor Rhoda threw a red zone interception, and Emmit Carpenter missed a 42-yard field goal, two costly mistakes that ended scoring opportunities.
And a Gophers defense that hadn't given up a point in the second half gave up 14.
Maryland's winning drive was an eight-play, 74-yard march covering 2:44 after Minnesota seemed to have the momentum. Johnson finished with 18 carries for 130 yards.
The Gophers' last-gasp chance ended when Rhoda threw his second interception with 41 seconds left.
Maryland marched down the field on its first possession, getting to the Gophers 2-yard line before a delay-of-game penalty pushed them back to the 7. On fourth-and-goal from the 6, the Terrapins tried a fake field goal, with holder Ryan Brand being stopped a yard short by Jacob Huff and Winston DeLattiboudere.
The Terps forced the Gophers to punt and took over at the Minnesota 48. Maryland moved to the Gophers 23 before an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Terps back to the 38. They moved to the 31 and went for it on fourth-and-11. Max Bortenschlager then hit DJ Turner on a deep sideline pattern for a 22-yard gain to the Minnesota 8.
On that play Gophers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was injured and was tended to on the sideline.
Two plays later, Bortenschlager scored on a 7-yard run with 2:44 left in the first quarter.
The Gophers got their offense going on their second possession, with Rhoda and his tight ends hooking up. First, the QB hit tight end Brandon Lingen for a 24-yard gain to the Maryland 40 on third-and-12. Then from the Terps 26, Rhoda found Nate Wozniak for a 23-yard gain down the sideline to the 3. Two plays later, Rodney Smith scored from the 1 to tie the score 7-7 with 13:18 left in the second quarter.
The Gophers drove to the Maryland 15 on their next possession, but Rhoda's pass to Tyler Johnson was high. Johnson tipped the ball into the air, and Maryland's Josh Woods intercepted it.
Maryland cashed that in with an 11-play, 92-yard drive punctuated by Bortenschlager's 27-yard TD pass to DJ Moore for a 14-7 lead. Key on that drive were a pass interference penalty on Gophers cornerback Antonio Shenault on third-and-6, Ty Johnson's 21-yard run and Jake Funk's 11-yard gain to the Minnesota 27 on third-and-5.
The Gophers responded by driving to Maryland's 23, but a pair of Rhoda incompletions led to Emmit Carpenter's 41-yard field goal that trimmed the Terps' lead to 14-10 with 58 seconds left in the half.
After Ryan Santoso's kickoff went out of bounds _ his second kick out of bounds in the first half _ Maryland faced third-and-8 from its 37 after Fleck called timeout with 12 seconds left in the half. Bortenschlager then hit Taivon Jacobs for a 13-yard gain to midfield with 6 seconds left. After a Terrapins timeout, Ty Johnson gained 17 yards to the 33 and slid down with 2 seconds left. Henry Darmstadter kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a 17-10 Maryland lead.
In the third quarter, the Gophers marched to the Maryland 24. But Brooks was stuffed for no gain on third-and-3, and Carpenter missed wide left from 42 yards.
After the Gophers forced a three-and-out, Rhoda found Tyler Johnson for gains of 17 and 25, the latter when the sophomore went up high to snare a pass to the Terps 14. Rhoda then found tight end Brandon Lingen for a 7-yard TD to tie the score 17-17 with 5:19 left in the third quarter.
Maryland took the lead on Bortenschlager's 4-yard TD pass to Funk with 11:11 left in the fourth. That play capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive.
The Gophers started the tying drive in the fourth quarter their 20, and Rhoda used a 6-yard gain _ his first designed keeper of the game _ plus a 15-yard late hit penalty on Maryland's Josh Woods to move the ball to the Terps 47. Rhoda then found Tyler Johnson for a 27-yard gain to the Maryland 20. But a 12-yard reception by Howard was wiped out by Rashad Still's offensive pass interference penalty.
