Minnesota Falls To Northwestern, 28-13
MarQueis Gray runs for 147 yards and a touchdown, throws for 124
EVANSTON,
Ill. (AP) - Dan Persa threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns, and
Northwestern won its fourth straight, beating Minnesota 28-13 on
Saturday.
Venric Mark came through with two big kickoff returns
as the Wildcats (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten) scored touchdowns on their first
three possessions to build a 21-7 lead. That set the tone as
Northwestern became eligible for its fourth straight bowl appearance.
If it seems like a modest accomplishment, consider where this team was when this streak began.
The
Wildcats lost five in a row after winning their first two and appeared
to be going nowhere, but they turned it around in a big way with
lopsided wins over Indiana and Rice sandwiched around a tight stunner
at Nebraska.
Now, this.
Minnesota (2-9, 1-6) had two deep
drives stall, settling for a field goal after getting to the Wildcats'
10 in the second quarter and coming away with nothing late in the third
when it was threatening to make it a four-point game.
Instead,
Ibraheim Campbell tipped a 9-yard pass intended for Brandon Green in
the end zone and Brian Peters made the interception. That led to an
80-yard Northwestern drive, with Jacob Schmidt running it in from the 1
on a pitch to make it 28-10 early in the fourth and seal the victory.
The
Wildcats will try to strengthen their standing against Michigan State
next week, but they can breathe a little easier knowing they have
enough wins to make a bowl.
Coming off a career performance
against Rice, Persa was sharp again after throwing for a personal-best
372 yards and matching a high with four TD passes. He was 22 of 31 with
an interception.
Jeremy Ebert had a relatively quiet day with 62
yards receiving after setting career highs the previous two weeks with
147 yards against Nebraska and 208 against Rice.
Mark's 44-yard
return on the opening kickoff and 42-yarder on Northwestern's next
possession both led to touchdowns, giving the Wildcats an early lead
that ultimately stood.
The Golden Gophers, meanwhile, got solid
performances from MarQueis Gray and Duane Bennett but simply couldn't
pull this one out.
Gray ran for 147 yards and a touchdown and
threw for 124, but completed just 9 of 21 passes and got picked off
once. Bennett finished with a season-high 127 yards rushing, 78 in the
first half.
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