Scramble draws oohs, oh-nos from Brewster

As exhilarating as Adam Weber's 39-yard fourth-quarter run Saturday at Purdue was for Tim Brewster, the Gophers coach was gritting his teeth at the end of the play. And Sunday morning, he was still gritting his teeth as he recalled the play that sealed Minnesota's first victory at Purdue since 1990 and a No. 20 national ranking (and 17 in the BCS).

"[Weber] makes me crazy the way he attacks the tackler at the end of runs," said Brewster, whose team faces Northwestern on Saturday. "I've talked to him about it, and Adam is just a hard-nosed kid. He says, 'Coach Brew, I'm with you, but this is how I've got to play.' But I want him in one piece, you know?"

Clearly, keeping Weber in one piece would seem to be critical to the Gophers' hopes of landing in their first New Year's Day bowl since 1962. But Weber continues to take a pounding.

He was sacked four times at Purdue, and also led the Gophers in rushing with 60 yards. His 39-yard run that preceded the game's final TD was the longest run of Weber's college career.

The sophomore quarterback is third in the Big Ten in total offense and has completed 67.1 percent of his passes. The numbers suggest that Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker -- the Big Ten's leading receiver in catches (66) and yards (833) -- are the Gophers' two indispensable players.

The bad news: In the past two weeks Weber has undergone minor knee surgery and suffered what first appeared to be a broken nose at Purdue, although Brewster said Sunday further evaluation did not reveal a break. Decker is also battling an assortment of bumps and bruises that led him to the trainer's room immediately after the Purdue game.

"He's just beat up at this point of the season," Brewster said of Decker. "I don't even know what all of his injuries are, but if we were playing tomorrow he'd be in the lineup and ready to go."

Same with Weber, an obvious comfort to the coach. And yet, in this unexpected 7-1 season, Brewster dares to contemplate a future if injuries should knock out Weber and/or Decker.

Already Brewster has seen true freshman DeLeon Eskridge step forward after a season-ending knee injury to No. 1 running back Duane Bennett. The Gophers have won despite numerous injuries along the offensive line. They won at Illinois without top cornerback Marcus Sherels. And they won at Purdue as true freshman Brandon Green accumulated 100 receiving yards replacing veteran Ralph Spry, suspended two games for violating team rules.

"It's just the mentality of this team," Brewster said. "We've said, 'Guys, we're going to have to have injuries and we're going to have situations arise, and we need players to accept the opportunity.' One man's misfortune is another guy's opportunity. There's a real belief in each other on this team, and all the great teams have it.

"I truly believe this: If Adam Weber goes down, we'll get another quarterback to step up, and we're going to go on winning. ... Our chemistry -- all that corny stuff -- is very real."

Brewster said he has four potential quarterback backups: Seniors Mike Maciejowski and Tony Mortensen plus junior college transfer David Pittman, currently a wide receiver, and true freshman Troy Stoudermire, who has played defensive back and wide receiver and returned kicks.

Of course, Brewster's hope is that no backup options are needed. And if Weber stops trying to run over would-be tacklers, he might just survive in one piece. And Brewster might be able to stop gritting his teeth.

"I haven't talked to him about sliding," Brewster said. "I just say, 'At the end of runs, you're not a tailback. You don't have to attack the tackler.' That's what we tell DeLeon Eskridge to do.

"But that's just who Adam Weber is. He's just a tough, hard-nosed football player."

With emphasis on the hard-nosed, after his latest encounter with a tackler.