SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 19, 2013
Minnesota 20, Northwestern 17:
Philip Nelson threw for 112 yards and a touchdown to lead the Golden
Gophers to a win over the host Wildcats.
Minnesota (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten)
forced three turnovers and David Cobb rushed for 103
yards as the Gophers won the ground battle 176 to 94.
Northwestern (4-3, 0-3) got 234
passing yards and a touchdown from quarterback Trevor Siemian, making
his first start of the year in place of the injured Kain Colter. The
Wildcats, entering the game ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 5 in the nation in
takeaways, failed to cause a turnover.
The Wildcats took the lead in
the first quarter on Stephen Buckley's 3-yard touchdown run, but
Nelson found Derrick Engel on a 29-yard scoring hookup with 6:48 to
play in the second quarter to make it 7-7. James Manuel
intercepted Siemian and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to put
the Gophers on top late in the third stanza.
Minnesota got field goals of 34
and 38 yards by Chris Hawthorne and led by 10 with 5:24
to play in the fourth quarter. Siemian connected with Tony Jones on a 10-yard
touchdown with just over two minutes remaining, but the Wildcats
couldn't get the ball back to try to tie the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Manuel's score
was Minnesota's second interception return for a touchdown this
season. กญ Northwestern's streak of 10 consecutive games with an interception came to and end - compiling 23 picks in those 10 contests. กญ Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak
against the Wildcats and is 2-5 against the Wildcats since 2008.