Minnesota beats Nebraska, setting up showdown for Big Ten West with Wisconsin
Minnesota’s shot at a Big Ten championship is still alive.
The Gophers overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to storm back and knock off Nebraska 28-24 on the road, forcing a de facto Big Ten West title game with Wisconsin in Madison next Saturday.
With standout running back David Cobb sidelined with a leg injury, Gophers sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner used his arm and his legs to lead the Gophers on a 10-play, 78-yard game-winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. The drive culminated with a two-yard plunge by the 6-foot-4, 237-pound Leidner, who threw for 135 yards while also racking up 110 yards and two scores on the ground.
Nebraska, with 3:25 remaining, took over with a chance to go ahead and quickly worked its way down to the Minnesota 30-yard line. That’s when a wacky sequence ended Nebraska’s chance to pull out the win.
On 3rd-and-9, Huskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. felt pressure and rolled to the right and found De’Mornay Pierson-El inside the five-yard line. Pierson-El leaped to haul the pass in, but as he turned up field toward the end zone, Minnesota’s Briean Boddy-Calhoun stripped the ball from him at the two-yard line.
If Pierson-El managed to hang on, it would not have stood because he was penalized for illegal touching for stepping out of bounds before making the catch. Nonetheless, Minnesota was able to decline the penalty due to Boddy-Calhoun’s clutch play, which sealed the win for the Gophers.
Things got off to an inauspicious start for the Gophers. Nebraska needed just five plays and 2:03 of playing time to score on its first possession via an Ameer Abdullah (20 carries, 98 yards) two-yard TD run.
After the Gophers responded with a short TD run by Leidner to tie the game 7-7, the Huskers were the better team for the rest of the half. Early in the second quarter, Armstrong found Pierson-El for an 18-yard TD and when Minnesota tried to kick a field goal on its next drive, it was blocked and returned 85 yards for a score, giving Nebraska a 21-7 halftime lead.
The second half was a different story.
The Gophers sacked Armstrong twice on the first drive of the third quarter, forcing Nebraska to punt from its own 10-yard line. Minnesota then quickly took advantage of its good field position, scoring on a 17-yard Cobb run.
After the Huskers countered with a 30-yard Drew Brown field goal, Minnesota drove down the field again, but was forced into a fourth down at the 19-yard line. With Cobb now sidelined, instead of going for a field goal, the Gophers handed off to Rodrick Williams Jr., who ran off tackle for a touchdown, cutting the Nebraska lead to 24-21.
After forcing back-to-back Nebraska punts, Minnesota finally went ahead on Leidner’s second rushing score of the game before Boddy-Calhoun’s big strip clinched the victory.
The win improved Minnesota’s record to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play with a trip to Madison with the division title on the line against the Badgers next Saturday afternoon. It also marked the first win for Minnesota at Memorial Stadium since 1960.
After getting destroyed by Wisconsin a week ago, the loss marks back-to-back conference losses for the first time for Nebraska since 2009. Now 8-3 on the season, Bo Pelini’s group will end its season at Iowa next Friday.
For more Minnesota news, GopherIllustrated.com.
For more Nebraska news, visit HuskerOnline.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
