EVANSTON, Ill. (AP)—Duane Bennett ran for three touchdowns and Adam Weber passed for two scores to lead Minnesota to a 35-24 victory over Northwestern on Saturday.
The Golden Gophers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) finally held on against Northwestern (2-2, 0-1) after losing to the Wildcats in the final seconds the two previous years.
They trailed briefly, 24-21, after Northwestern’s Mike Kafka hit a leaping Brendan Mitchell with a 13-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Minnesota started the fourth with an 83-yard scoring drive, getting a 10-yard pass from Weber to Brandon Green on third down at the Northwestern 23 before Bennett ran it in from the 4. That made it 28-24 and Minnesota hung on from there.
Any chance Northwestern had at a comeback ended when Cedric McKinley stripped Mike Kafka as he dropped back to pass with the ball on the Wildcats 17 and recovered the fumble. That led to a 1-yard TD from Weber to Eric Decker, making it an 11-point game with 1:43 left.
The Gophers’ D.L. Wilhite then stripped Kafka again as he dropped back and recovered the fumble with 1:26 to play, and this time, Minnesota escaped with a tense win.
Bennett ran for 89 yards and Weber threw for 186. He was intercepted once and threw both touchdowns to Eric Decker, who caught eight passes for 84 yards.
Kafka, who set a Big Ten record for a quarterback by rushing for 217 yards against Minnesota last year, had his moments for Northwestern. He was 32 of 47 with 309 yards after setting school marks by completing his first 16 passes and 83.3 percent in all in a 37-34 loss at Syracuse last week.
Minnesota picked itself up after falling 35-21 to California in a game that was tied in the fourth quarter, regrouping against a team that had caused it plenty of misery.
Northwestern rallied from 21 down to a 49-48 double overtime win in Evanston in 2007, and last year sent Minnesota into a season-ending tailspin with a 24-17 last-second victory.
Head to Head - Week 4
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 352 | 186 | 166 | 22 | 57.1% | 1/14 | 1 | 31:45 |
| Northwestern | 373 | 309 | 64 | 23 | 52.9% | 3/15 | 3 | 28:15 |
20 Comments
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You're a moron. "Lowly Gophers" Your ignorance speaks wonders.
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What's your point, lot's of top teams went down today.
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Other thoughts: I don't know if it's because of his new throwing technique, but Weber has been real spotty this year. At least he has played fairly alright come the 4th quarter. I'm glad that we stuck it out with some running this game and the D came up key with those fumbles.
In other news... I did not expect Mich State to play so badly this year. Regardless, I'm looking forward to Wisconsin coming over to TCF, this will be a great game!
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All you have to do is click on the name of whoever did the post, if their info comes up its legit, if not the kids are playing again
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Go into your profile on yahoo and play around. You will figure it out. If you want I think you can even take up picture on a camera and upload onto your computer. You can then put that picture as your avatar. I might have to try that.
Maybe just snap a picture of a Twins hat or a beer can and see if it works.
I just created mine on yahoo. It was pretty easy.
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35-24 @ your place (like it mattered, what a terrible fanbase).
Gophers win. Learn to love it.
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Bitter party of one? Too many people pee in your cheerios over the years? Go find a hobby.
Spot - How do I do that?
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Micheal is a jealous little boy. You just need to leave him alone for a while until he stops crying. We will be destroying his little Badger team very shorty. No more cupcakes for them.
GOOOOOOO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Maybe you should create an avatar or get a unique picture of some sort so we know when it's you.
I can't believe I am saying this. This is pretty sad. What is wrong with people? And the funniest part is they think they are clever and funny and in actuality they are just children. It is seriously sad.
BTW: That Vikes page is trashed.
GOOOOOOOOOO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!
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Sounds like someone's a little jeolous of the Gophers recent success......................???? LMFAO. The past is the past and that cannot be changed. The future has yet to be written. Any retard could tell you the Gophers have struggled for a long time. Not any more pal. Things are changing and I love it. The sky is the limit. We will be hanging banners in the new stadium in the near future. That's a fact baby!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6-6 returns to campus. Sell your tickets Gopher fans and get your money out while the team is "hot."
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GOOOOOOOOOO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Who is your team? Gophers don't have an easy schedule at all. Most other teams in the country have many more cupcakes on their schedules.
3-1 and playing better each week.
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Who made this cup cake schedule?
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