Takeaways: Gophers defense disappears in 38-35 loss to Northwestern

CHICAGO — On a brisk late November Saturday at Wrigley Field, Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck offered a pregame prediction centered on both his team and Northwestern wanting to run the ball and keep the clock moving.

“People could be at the Cubby Bear by about 12:30,” Fleck said during the KFXN-FM pregame show.

After watching the Gophers’ defensive performance Saturday, visiting fans probably sought refuge at the nearby watering hole.

A week after allowing 510 yards to Oregon, the Gophers gave up 525 in a 38-35 loss to Northwestern.

Minnesota did so by squandering a 28-13 third-quarter lead and allowing the Wildcats to score 22 consecutive points and 25 overall in the second half.

Jack Olsen’s 33-yard field goal with 53 seconds left provided the winning points in front of an announced crowd of 15,323.

The Gophers had a chance to tie it as Koi Perich’s 44-yard kickoff return and Drake Lindsey’s 30-yard hookup with Javon Tracy brought them within field-goal range, but Brady Denaburg missed a 40-yard attempt wide left on the game’s final play.

For Northwestern (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten), Preston Stone completed 25 of 30 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. His 15-yard connection to tight end Hunter Welcing on third-and-10 from the Minnesota 38 and 12-yard scramble to the 16 set up the winning kick.

Griffin Wilde caught 11 passes for 111 yards and a TD, and Hayden Eligon II caught seven passes for 127 yards. Caleb Komolafe rushed 22 times for 129 yards and a TD.

Lindsey completed 20 of 30 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Tracy caught four passes for 87 yards and three TDs. Darius Taylor rushed 10 times for 43 yards and a score and caught six passes for 37 yards.

The Gophers were playing without two injured defensive starters: linebacker Devon Williams, their leading tackler, and cornerback John Nestor.

“There’s no excuses, but there are reasons,” Fleck said. “We’ve got a lot of guys out there that are playing for the first time. They’re really young players, and this is the way you grow up.”

The Gophers kept adding to the lead in the second quarter, getting TD catches of 5 and 24 by Tracy for a 21-13 halftime lead. And after the Gophers recovered a muffed punt at the Northwestern 28 early in the third quarter, Lindsey connected with Tracy for another TD and a 15-point lead.

“We’ve got to stay together,” Lindsey said. “This is a huge week coming up. We’ve got to learn from this one and attack next week.”

With the loss, the Gophers fell to 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten, leaving them 0-5 on the road this season. Minnesota needs to beat Wisconsin next week in the regular-season finale to finish with a winning record in the regular season. A win also might help them avoid being sent to Detroit for the GameAbove Sports Bowl for the fourth time since 2015.

After the Gophers took a 28-13 lead in the third quarter, Northwestern responded with Stone’s 38-yard hookup with Eligon to start a TD drive that ended with Stone’s 4-yard TD pass to Griffin Wilde and a 2-point conversion that made it 28-21.

Preston Stone, Northwestern

9 | Passing plays that gained 15 or more yards for Northwestern, for a total of 191 yards.

Gophers vs. Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Bank Stadium, FS1, 100.3-FM