Minnesota QB Max Brosmer details his 'welcome to the Power 4' moment

Brosmer had an up-and-down performance in his first game as a Big Ten quarterback.

Aug 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer (16) warms up before the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Max Brosmer's Gophers debut against North Carolina was his 34th career start as a Division I quarterback, but it was his first against a team in one of the four major FBS conferences. Minnesota ultimately came up short on the scoreboard and he realizes things did not go exactly as planned.

Last season at New Hampshire, Brosmer passed for at least 239 yards in all but one game. In Thursday's loss to the Tar Heels, he finished with 166 yards through the air. It was evident that he had some opening night jitters, and he knows that there is room for improvement.

"I think it took a little bit for us to get into the groove and that's really important as an offense and as a team. If you take a few drives to start going, sometimes it's hard to get the ball running early, and also you have to take what the defense gives you," Brosmer said. "At the quarterback position specifically, knowing your opponent, and knowing them going into game one, take what they give you, don't try to do too much, play your game, and trust your players."

One of Minnesota's biggest offensive struggles was giving its new quarterback enough time to throw the football. Brosmer was pressured on 28.5% of his dropbacks and the North Carolina defense got home for five sacks on the night.

Veteran Tar Heels defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie was arguably the player of the game, recording six tackles and three sacks. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, Brosmer was running away from him all night.

"Yeah, that was my welcome to the Power 4 moment for sure," Brosmer said. "It didn't happen too much from where I had originally played and that was a good phone call on the sideline with coach Harbaugh, 'Well you won't do that again, but you know you can take that and grow in-game,' and that's going to be a throw-away next time for sure."

In the fourth quarter, Brosmer looked like he began to take what the North Carolina defense gave him. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 113 yards and even ran for a first down. Sixty-eight percent of his passing yards came in the final 15 minutes of play.

He finished the night 13-of-21 passing for 166 yards and he also added a rushing touchdown but lost a fumble. It was not the cleanest start, but there is some stuff for him to build off heading into the last two games of Minnesota's non-conference schedule.

"There's a fine line between playing free and playing loose but also making sure that you are not trying to do too much and you are playing within the system and within the game," Brosmer said. "A lot of the playing free comes from preparation beforehand, knowing what you are going to get on defense, what situation brings this coverage and this pressure. That preparation allows a player to not have to worry about the external and the extra stuff, because you are one step ahead. That is where people can struggle in college football, focusing on minute things, sometimes you have to just trust your body and just go play football."

After a drastic step up in competition, Brosmer will come back down in Week 2 and face Rhode Island for the fourth time in his college career. It will be a great opportunity for the Gophers passing attack to carry the momentum they had in the fourth quarter of the season opener into a full game of success.