PASADENA, Calif. — Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck listed off the handful of negative plays that kept them off the scoreboard in the first half against UCLA on Saturday night. Then he spun the 10-0 deficit in a positive direction, telling KFXN-FM at halftime, it would “only go up from here.” Well, not exactly. But the Gophers rode a strong third quarter, endured a dip midway early in the fourth quarter, but got a game-winning drive to beat UCLA 21-17 in front of 42,012 at Rose Bowl Stadium. The Gophers took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter, but the Bruins retook the lead at 17-14. Then Minnesota went 61 yards, with Max Brosmer finding Darius Taylor underneath for a 4-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining. Koi Perich intercepted the Bruins’ Hail Mary attempt to seal the win on the last play of the game. Playing its first game in Pasadena since the 1962 Rose Bowl, the the Gophers (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) produced some late drama to beat UCLA (1-5, 0-4). Trailing 17-14 and facing a fourth and 6 from the UCLA 46-yard line, P.J. Fleck opted to punt and Mark Crawford pinned the Bruins deep at their own 3. It worked as UCLA was forced to punt, giving Brosmer and Co. the ball back at their own 41. The Bruins strung together positive plays to retake the lead 17-14 with a 42-yard completion from Ethan Barbers to J. Michael Sturdivant with seven minutes left. Trailing 10-0 at the half, Minnesota scored touchdowns on its first two drives of the third quarter. After a sack by Jack Henderson led to a UCLA punt, Brosmer then found Elijah Spencer wide open for a 12-yard touchdown. Then Perich’s diving interception led to Taylor’s 2-yard touchdown run to take a 14-10 lead. The Bruins went nearly 10 full quarters without an offensive touchdown coming into Saturday’s game, but scored on its opening drive against Minnesota. They were no longer stuck in neutral. After the U went three-and-out to start the game, UCLA went on a 10-play, 52-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead. It was Minnesota’s offense that went nowhere in the first half, with two crucial dropped passes, one missed field goal and one missed blocking assignment that allowed a sack. After the sack, UCLA had a six-play, 38-yard drive capped with 34-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead at the half. Related Articles College Sports | Gophers football: UCLA breaks Big Ten policy on availability reports College Sports | Gophers football: Pasadena covered in maroon and gold for game at Rose Bowl College Sports | Gophers defense appears healthier to play UCLA on Saturday College Sports | Gophers football at UCLA: Keys to game, how to watch and who has edge College Sports | Gophers football: 1962 Rose Bowl was a program pinnacle but came after protests and trash talk