The Gophers coaching staff has been anything but predictable in picking a starting quarterback each week this season.
Mitch Leidner got a surprising start Saturday against Nebraska after Philip Nelson had performed better in the previous week's victory at Northwestern.
Leidner led three drives against Nebraska, resulting in a punt, a touchdown and another punt. On the fourth possession, the Gophers turned to Nelson, and the team responded with another touchdown drive, capped by a 33-yard touchdown pass from Nelson to Derrick Engel on fourth-and-10.
That gave the Gophers the lead, and they stuck with Nelson for the rest of the game.
"At this point, it's just kind of a feel thing, and I think different opponents will dictate who that guy is, and who the starter's going to be," Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said.
Leidner rushed four times for 2 yards, including one sack, and completed one of two passes for 7 yards. Nelson rushed eight times for 55 yards and completed seven of 15 passes for 152 yards.
"Coach [Jerry] Kill talked with both the quarterbacks, and he said, 'The thing you can't worry about is, we're not going to have a starter each and every week, and it's not going to be one guy that's head and shoulders above the other. You're both going to play. You're both going to have to approach it that way,' " Limegrover said.
"The greatest thing about those two kids is there's no ego there. Neither one of them is like, 'I have to be the starter.' At the end of the day, both collectively say, 'Whatever it takes to win a football game, I'm in.' "