As the third quarter wound down Saturday in Evanston, it appeared Minnesota was well on their way to getting their first Big Ten win under coach Tim Brewster.However, Northwestern had other ideas, and for the second straight week, the Wildcats won an exciting, high-scoring game. It took a comeback from a 21-point deficit, along with a stop on a two-point conversion attempt in double-overtime, but the Wildcats stunned Minnesota 49-48. As a result, hopes for bowl eligibility for Northwestern are alive and well. That bowl bid would be huge for second-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Four Adam Weber touchdown passes had the Gophers up 35-14 late in the third quarter, and a defense that had been maligned for not making enough plays made a play. With Northwestern driving, the Gophers forced a fumble inside their ten, and they took possession at the 13. Three running plays netted Minnesota a first down, but Weber was intercepted on that first-down play, giving the Wildcat offense the ball with great field position. C.J. Bacher cashed in on the first play with a touchdown pass to make it 35-21.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Gophers faced a third-and-five at their 45, and Weber was intercepted again. This pick also led to a Northwestern touchdown, as Bacher ran it in from six yards out on fourth down. The Gophers still had the lead, but it was quite precarious at 35-28.
After an exchange of punts, the Gophers drove into field goal range, eating quite a bit of time off the clock with an 11-play drive. However, Weber missed on a third-down play, and then Joel Monroe misfired on a 44-yard field goal attempt. That gave Northwestern the ball on their 27 with 1:59 left, and Bacher went to work. He hit four of six passes, driving NU down to the four-yard-line, where they faced a fourth-and-goal play. Each team used a timeout before the play, and then Bacher hit Eric Peterman for the game-tying touchdown.
Weber hit Ernie Wheelwright for a score on the first possession of overtime, and Northwestern answered with a tying score. The Wildcats then got the ball first in the second overtime and scored to take a 49-42 lead. When Weber answered with a touchdown run of his own, the Gophers had a decision to make, and Brewster elected to go for two. You can debate the merits of that call all you want, but look at the facts.
Brewster knew his offense could score, basically at will. But the Gophers have been accident-prone all season, and when the offense does turn it over, it often leads to points because of Minnesota's defense, which is the worst in the Big Ten and in Division I-A (er, FBS). Sure enough, that defense did play a huge role in the Gophers' losses to Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic, and it also had a hand in Minnesota losing a 16-point lead against Miami (Ohio) and needing triple-overtime to win.
Weber's two-point pass fell incomplete, and Northwestern had a huge win. Their record is now 4-3 overall, and 2-2 in league play. Minnesota falls to 1-6 overall, 0-4 in Big Ten play, and that horrible defense now has to deal with North Dakota State next week. Sure, they're a I-AA (er, FCS) team, but they are number one in that division, and the Gophers needed a blocked field goal on the final play to secure a 10-9 win over NDSU last year. A loss to the Bison would cement this as the worst Gopher team since the Jim Wacker era.
