MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Max Brosmer went looking for a new challenge to complete his college career, a first glance at Minnesota hardly suggested a fit.
The Gophers have unapologetically been a grind-it-out team for years, and here was the leading passer in the FCS who threw the ball more than 40 times per game for New Hampshire seeking a power conference team he could lead for his final season.
Taking a chance on each other sure led to a strong partnership.
The ball has been in the air for Minnesota this year more than it's stayed on the ground, the first time since 2007 when that 1-11 team finished with a minus-125 scoring differential.
Over the first seven seasons under coach P.J. Fleck, the Gophers called runs on 62% of their plays. This season, they've passed 55% of the time.
“We knew we were going to have to be able to close that gap,” Fleck said.
Enter Brosmer, who in his conversations while in the transfer portal didn't shy away from stating his goal of having full control of the offense despite playing for a program that's essentially two levels below Minnesota. He hit it off with Fleck and his staff, particularly co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Greg Harbaugh.
Gophers coaches, with no experienced options on the roster remaining after last season, realized they needed Brosmer as much as he needed them.
“That was part of the open, early, honest communication. Throughout recruiting, one of the things that I had told them was, ’Hey, I want to be able to run the offense,'” Brosmer said. “A lot of teams do the ‘check-with-me’ system where you’re looking to the sideline and the OC is calling the play.”
This vision was born out of confidence and ambition, not bravado, but Brosmer's leadership desire would be left unfulfilled were it not for his keen ability to quickly unite the locker room around the common cause of improving on a disappointing 6-7 finish in 2023.
“That’s what excited me about this place, that they were willing to try new things, especially when I got here in January,” Brosmer said.
The improved and modernized passing attack would hardly matter if the Gophers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) weren't playing well, but they are on a four-game winning streak entering their game Saturday at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights, ironically, are quarterbacked by Athan Kaliakmanis, the starter at Minnesota last season whose transfer created the opening for this one-year-only blast with Brosmer.
Brosmer, who got his degree in biomedical science from New Hampshire, is also a hobby guitarist who recorded his own country song. For all his abilities, Harbaugh has called leadership his superpower.
Despite no prior relationships with his new teammates, Brosmer held offseason gatherings at his childhood home in Georgia and applied the work-ethic example he learned from his parents toward immersing himself in not only Minnesota’s playbook but the culture too.
“That’s why we’re winning: Guys are working their tails off,” he said.
Brosmer, who regularly plays online chess to exercise his mind and take a brief football break, has wowed the Gophers with his meticulous approach to the weekly preparation for each game.
“Getting into the office at the same exact time every single day,” Brosmer said, “because I have a set amount of minutes that I want to do each thing.”
His ability to process the game plan and the opposing defense have given the coaching staff an increasing amount of confidence he can handle whatever it is they're trying to do.
“You can utilize the entire playbook,” Harbaugh said. "You can utilize every area of the field.”
Brosmer has 13 touchdown passes and just four interceptions, plus four rushing scores. He's seventh in the Big Ten with a completion percentage (68.2) that's on pace to break the program record.
“He processes at such a high level because he prepares at such a high level,” Fleck said. “He’s really smart, and I’ve seen a lot of smart people who can’t process and function that quickly.”
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.
Max Brosmer has helped Minnesota make a sharp turn into a pass-first team in his only Big Ten season
Max Brosmer has helped Minnesota make a sharp turn into a pass-first team in his only Big Ten season
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer passes during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Shares retreated in Asia early Thursday after U.S. stocks stormed to records as investors wagered on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world.
Markets also were turning their attention to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, due later in the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 shed early gains to fall 0.6% to 39,246.86, while the Kospi in Seoul fell 0.4% to 2,554.57.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower, to 8,191.00.
Chinese shares also declined. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7% to 20,386.36. The Shanghai Composite index also fell 0.7%, to 3,359.99.
Trump has promised to slap blanket 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports, raising them still more if Beijing makes a move to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan.
Investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Higher tariffs on imports from China would add to the burdens Beijing is facing as it struggles to revive slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Higher tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and other countries also would raise the risk of trade wars and other disruptions to the global economy.
On Wednesday, the U.S. stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin all stormed higher, however, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world. Among the losers the market sees: the renewable-energy industry and potentially anyone worried about higher inflation.
The S&P 500 rallied 2.5% to 5,929.04 for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3.6% to 43,729.93, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3% to 18,983.47. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks.
The impact of Trump's second term will likely depend on whether his fellow Republicans win control of Congress, and that’s not yet clear.
Investors see Trump’s policies potentially leading to stronger economic growth. That helps push prices down and yields up for Treasurys. Tax cuts under Trump could further swell the U.S. government’s deficit, increasing borrowing and forcing yields even higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.43% from 4.29% late Tuesday, which is a major move for the bond market. It’s up substantially from August, when it was below 4%.
Investors expect the incoming president's policies, particularly higher tariffs, to fan inflation and add costs to U.S. household bills. Sharp cutbacks in immigration could also leave businesses shorthanded, forcing companies to raise wages for workers faster and put more upward pressure on prices.
Much of Wall Street’s run to records this year was built on expectations for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, as inflation has headed back down to its 2% target. Easier interest rates help boost the economy, but they can also give inflation more fuel.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on interest rates Thursday, where the expectation is still for a cut, according to data from CME Group. But traders are already paring back forecasts for how many cuts the Fed will provide through the middle of next year.
In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar was holding steady against the Japanese yen, at 154.63. The euro slipped to $1.0728 from $1.0730.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 2 cents to $71.71 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 24 cents at $75.16.
The price of bitcoin slipped to $$76,165 after hitting an all-time high above $76,480 on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Trump has pledged to make the country “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
A man passes a video monitor on the side of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A TV camera screen shows the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Members of media stand near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader talks on the phone at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A tv cameraman films the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
