Watch Minnesota score an accidental and amazing TD in its Holiday Bowl win

It hasn’t been a positive couple of weeks for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, whose players nearly boycotted the Holiday Bowl after 10 of their teammates were suspended as a result of a sexual assault investigation. But the team and its fans got a brief respite from the off-the-field mess with a 17-12 win over the Washington State Cougars in the Holiday Bowl on Tuesday.

And one play stood out in what surprisingly turned out to be a low-scoring defensive battle.

Washington State cornerback Marcellus Pippins tried to make a one-handed interception or knock down a pass from Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner – but instead knocked it right into the arms of the Golden Gophers' Shannon Brooks in the end zone.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/813949748654772224

That circus catch put the Gophers up 10-6 -- their first lead of the game -- and they wouldn’t look back. Despite playing shorthanded on defense because of the suspensions, Minnesota shut down the Cougars’ high-powered, Luke Falk-led offense.