EVANSTON, Ill. _ Quarterback Tanner Morgan cleared concussion protocol to lead Minnesota to a 38-22 victory at Northwestern on Saturday.
Despite enduring back-to-back sacks late in the Iowa game a week ago, the sophomore starter retained his job, helping the Gophers to a 10-1 record and a rebound after the first loss of the season to the Hawkeyes. This win sets up the Nov. 30 showdown with Wisconsin at TCF Bank Stadium for the Big Ten West title. The winner goes to the conference championship Dec. 7 in Indianapolis.
The Gophers couldn't have started much better, even in front of a paltry crowd, although nearly half were traveling Gophers fans.
They forced three-and-outs on their first two defensive drives and scored touchdowns on their first three offensive ones. Morgan and the receivers looked like they couldn't miss, while the running backs exploited every hole. The defense sacked and pressured surprise Northwestern starter Hunter Johnson.
Then the game went a little awry. Punt returner Demetrius Douglas' failure to catch a punt backed the Gophers up to their 6-yard line. Morgan then tried to avoid a sack but ended up throwing the ball away in the end zone, which granted Northwestern its first points off a safety for intentional grounding.
The Wildcats used that momentum to orchestrate their first touchdown, eventually a 9-yard pass from fourth-string quarterback Andrew Marty, who came into the game shortly before the botched punt. Johnson left the game after an Antoine Winfield Jr. sack.
Coming out of halftime, both teams scored on their first offensive drives. That ate up most of the third quarter and maintained the Gophers' two-possession lead.
Morgan completed 15 of 23 passes for 211 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He now holds the school single-season record with 26 touchdowns.
Both senior Tyler Johnson and sophomore Rashod Bateman eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards this season, with Johnson accumulating 125 yards on seven catches with one touchdown, and Bateman tallying 78 yards on seven catches with three scores.
The Gophers amassed 217 yards on a combined effort from Rodney Smith, Mohamed Ibrahim and Shannon Brooks. Brooks scored the lone rushing touchdown.
While the offense was pretty good, the defense was just OK. Northwestern's offense ranked second-to-last in the FBS in scoring offense heading into this game at just 14.5 points per game, and the Gophers allowed the Wildcats 22. Special teams, meanwhile, fumbled the ball several times.
The Gophers hadn't won 10 regular-season games since 1905.
