Minnesota 20, Northwestern 17

October 19, 2013 - Ryan Field - Evanston, IL

View Northwestern photo album 

NCAAF   FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH     TOTAL
                            ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
        MINNESOTA             0    7    7    6      20
        NORTHWESTERN          7    0    0   10      17   FINAL


        SCORING SUMMARY

     
        1ST QTR: NORW - TD, STEPHEN BUCKLEY 3 YD RUN (JEFF BUDZIEN KICK), 1:53
        2ND QTR: MINN - TD, DERRICK ENGEL 29 YD PASS FROM PHILIP NELSON (CHRIS
                        HAWTHORNE KICK), 6:48
        3RD QTR: MINN - TD, JAMES MANUEL 24 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (CHRIS
                        HAWTHORNE KICK), 1:22
        4TH QTR: MINN - FG, CHRIS HAWTHORNE 34 YD, 14:55
                 NORW - FG, JEFF BUDZIEN 35 YD, 11:09
                 MINN - FG, CHRIS HAWTHORNE 38 YD, 5:24
                 NORW - TONY JONES 10 YD PASS FROM TREVOR SIEMIAN (JEFF BUDZIEN
                        KICK), 2:07
                                                                                


Extended Box


NCAAF                 1  2  3  4   F 
                      -  -  -  -  -- 
Minnesota             0  7  7  6  20 
Northwestern          7  0  0 10  17  FINAL 


 Northwestern-Buckley 3 run (Budzien kick)
 Minnesota-Engel 29 pass from Nelson (Hawthorne kick)
 Minnesota-Manuel 24 interception return (Hawthorne kick)
 Minnesota-FG Hawthorne 34
 Northwestern-FG Budzien 35
 Minnesota-FG Hawthorne 38
 Northwestern-T Jones 10 pass from Siemian (Budzien kick)


                      Minnesota   Northwestern 
First downs                  16          20 
Rushed-yards             49-176       26-94 
Passing yards               123         234 
Sacked-yards lost          3-24        3-13 
Return yards                  8          16 
Passes                   9-14-0     25-46-2
Punts                    7-44.7      6-35.5 
Fumbles-lost                1-0         1-1 
Penalties-yards            9-89        5-40 
Time of possession        35:15       24:45 


Individual Statistics 
RUSHING: Minnesota-Cobb 20-103, Leidner 7-27, Kirkwood 10-26, Nelson 9-26,
Harbison 1-(-2). Northwestern-Buckley 9-58, T Green 9-34, T Jones 1-11, Trumpy 3-4,
Siemian 4-(-13).


PASSING: Minnesota-Nelson 8-11-0-112, Leidner 1-3-0-11. Northwestern-Siemian
25-45-2-234.


RECEIVING: Minnesota-Engel 2-42, Wolitarsky 2-28, Henry 2-21, Cobb 1-21, Fruechte 1-8,
Kirkwood 1-3. Northwestern-T Jones 8-84, C Jones 5-53, Dickerson 2-28, Trumpy 4-25,
Lawrence 1-16, Vitale 3-13, T Green 1-8, Prayter 1-7.


Att: 36,587
                                                                        


Game Story


EVANSTON, Illinois (AP) -- Minnesota coach Jerry Kill may be on a
health-related leave but he wasn't about be stuck at home Saturday.

So Kill hopped in a car with his wife, Rebecca, at the wheel and
arrived at Northwestern's Ryan Field in time to give his Golden Gopher
team an unexpected lift.

With the third-year coach watching from the coaches' box, Minnesota
rallied in the second half to upend the host Wildcats 20-17.

"If the coach can make the effort to get here and drive, we can dig a
little bit deeper and play just a little bit harder," acting Gophers
coach Tracy Claeys said. "It would be special to be able to finish it
off. I'm so proud of them that they did that against a good football
team."

Kill, sidelined indefinitely as he deals with recent series of epileptic
seizures, addressed his players at halftime and after the game.

"We saw him at halftime and it was shocker," linebacker James Manuel
said. "And then at the end of the game it was a special moment for
the team, as a whole, hearing him speak. Having his presence there
just really gave us a tremendous boost going into the second half."

The Gophers (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten) turned two second half turnovers into
scores as they snapped a two-game losing streak en route to their first
Big Ten win.

Manuel broke a 7-7 tie with a 24-yard third quarter interception return
and Chris Hawthorne turned another Wildcat turnover into a 34-yard
field goal in the fourth.

Kill watched Manuel pick off Wildcat quarterback Trevor Siemian with
1:22 for a go-ahead score. The Gophers made it 17-7 just 87 seconds
later on Hawthorne's field goal after recovering a Wildcat fumble.

Hawthorne's 38-yard field goal with 5:24 remaining made it 20-10.
Northwestern cut the deficit to 20-17 on a 10-yard touchdown strike
from Siemian to Tony Jones with 2:07 remaining.

Northwestern (4-3, 0-3) dropped its third straight but Wildcat coach
Pat Fitzgerald remained upbeat.

"If we just go out and make a few more plays this thing turns right
around," he said. "We have five more games left to play, we've got
five great opportunities ahead of us and that's the way we've got to
approach it."

Gopher quarterback Philip Nelson was 8-of-11 for 112 yards, including
a touchdown strike to Derrick Engel. Running back David Cobb rushed
20 times for 103 yards.

Siemian completed 25 of 46 passes for 234 yards but was picked off
twice and fumbled once. Jones had eight catches for 84 yards.

Northwestern opened the scoring on Stephen Buckley's first career
touchdown with 1:53 left in the first quarter. Buckley's 3-yard score
capped a drive on which he had a 33-yard reception and an 11-yard run.

Minnesota tied the game at 7 as Nelson hit Engel hit on a 29-yard
touchdown pass with 6:48 left in the first half.

Hawthorne's try for a go-ahead 44-yard field goal just before halftime
sailed wide left.

Minnesota's defense shut down a promising Northwestern drive deep
into Gopher territory early in the final frame. The Wildcats settled
for a 35-yard Jeff Budzien field goal that cut the Gopher lead to 17-10
with 11:09 left in regulation.

After Hawthorne's second field goal, Northwestern converted on three
fourth downs in a 75-yard scoring drive that culminated in Jones'
10-yard TD reception.

That proved to be the Wildcats' last stand.