Nebraska Cornhuskers at Minnesota Golden Gophers final score: Gophers upset Huskers 34-23
By Josh Davis
The Minnesota Golden Gophers got themselves a huge victory, and their first win over a ranked team in the Jerry Kill era. Now sitting at 6-2 (2-2 SEC), the Gophers are bowl eligible.
Nebraska meanwhile is going to deal with the fallout of what will be considered one of the worst losses of the Bo Pelini era. After the UCLA loss, Pelini was in hot water, now it’s going to be very hot.
Minnesota simply ran over a youthful Nebraska defense in the 2nd half. Overall they rushed for 273 yards, including 138 yards on 31 carries from running back David Cobb. Quarterback Phillip Nelson ran for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a clinching qb-sneak with less than :50 remaining in the football game.
Nelson only completed 7 passes but they were all big gains as he threw for 152 yards and a touchdown. Their big play was a 4th down and 10 conversion in the first half that ended up in a leaping touchdown catch by Derrick Engel in between double coverage. After that it seemed Minnesota had all the momentum they needed to finish it off.
Taylor Martinez was definitely rusty after over a month of missed football. He only threw for 139 yards and 1 touchdown, while only rushing for 15 yards. In fact, Ameer Abdullah shook off an early ankle tweak to out-rush Martinez’ passing output, running for 165 yards, but could never find the endzone.
This was Minnesota’s first win over Nebraska since 1960. This may very well be one of the best wins in Golden Gopher history.
Going back to the fallout for Nebraska, this is going to be one of the most trying weeks that they have ever faced. With Northwestern, Michigan and Michigan State coming up, a lot of doubt will be in the “Big Red” faithful this week.