SAN DIEGO _ For a team that considered boycotting the Holiday Bowl, the Gophers played Tuesday night like they never intended to miss it.
And for a coach who has wondered aloud about his future, Tracy Claeys showed he still can get his team to block out distractions and play.
With the defense frustrating Washington State's high-powered passing offense, the Gophers got two hard-to-believe bounces and held on to beat the Cougars 17-12 at Qualcomm Stadium.
Emmit Carpenter made a first-half field goal, even though it bounced off the right upright, and Mitch Leidner had a near interception get deflected right into the waiting hands of Shannon Brooks for a touchdown.
With a little more than two minutes remaining, Rodney Smith added a 9-yard touchdown run, pretty much sealing the victory for Minnesota. Washington State kept things interesting.
The Gophers finished 9-4 on the season, giving them nine wins for the first time since they went 10-3 under Glen Mason in 2003.
Entering the game, Washington State ranked second nationally in passing offense (370.8 yards per game) and 14th in scoring offense (40.3 points per game).
But the Gophers held them to 264 passing yards and a season low for points.
Washington State led 6-3 at halftime, but the Gophers had held the Cougars without a first-half touchdown, something that hadn't happened to Mike Leach's team all season.
The Cougars started the second half with a momentum building drive, getting three first downs. But Blake Cashman came up with a huge sack on third-and-2, forcing a punt.
The Gophers took over at their own 16 and went 84 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
The drive ended with a gift. On third-and-8, Leidner threw toward the end zone, a ball that could have been intercepted. Washington State cornerback Marcellus Pippins jumped and tipped the ball with his right hand _ right to Brooks.
A Minnesota team that had seen its share of bad bowl bounces, suddenly got one of the best bounces imaginable. The Gophers led 10-6 with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter.
But the football gods never seem to smile on the Gophers for long. On the next drive, they lost cornerback Coney Durr and Steven Richardson to leg injuries. Durr is a true freshman who was making his first collegiate start, with four of the team's top six defensive backs out with suspensions.
To replace Durr, the Gophers had to turn to another seldom used cornerback, redshirt freshman Zo Craighton. But Minnesota's defense kept doing its thing.
With 3:19 remaining, Washington State went for it on fourth down near midfield. Quarterback Luke Falk held the ball for what seemed like an eternity, unable to find an open receiver, before flinging the ball down field.
Safety Adekunle Ayinde made the interception and took the ball all the way into Washington State's end zone, but replays showed he stepped out of bounds at the 31-yard line.
The Gophers didn't blink, with Brooks delivering some big runs before Smith finished off the drive with his touchdown run.
After winning last year's Quick Lane Bowl against Central Michigan, Minnesota now has its first two-game bowl winning streak since it won three in a row from 2002-2004, beating Arkansas, Oregon and Alabama.
This one was played before an uneasy fan base, unsure about Claeys' future.
Gophers players boycotted all team activities on Dec. 15, in protest of the way the university administration handled the suspension of 10 players in connection with an alleged Sept. 2 sexual assault. Claeys tweeted his support for the players, seemingly aligning himself against the administration.
By the fourth quarter of the Holiday Bowl, more than 1,900 people had signed a petition on moveon.org, calling for Claeys' termination. A separate petition to keep Claeys had more than 100 signatures.
The temperature reached 70 degrees on a gorgeous December day in San Diego, and it was still 64 at kickoff, as the sun started setting beneath Qualcomm Stadium's cement walls.
Washington State had the bigger fan turnout, after selling about 7,800 tickets through the school, compared to 2,600 for Minnesota. There was mostly scattered seating throughout the upper deck in the 70,500-seat stadium. The announced attendance was 48,704.
