2012 College Football Schedule: Golden Gophers visit Madison Saturday

This weeks' Big 10 schedule for your Saturday viewing pleasure (or pain)

NCAA Football Rankings, Week 8: Minnesota not ranked in AP top 25

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are not ranked in the Associated Press top 25 after losing to Northwestern.

Northwestern vs. Minnesota 2012: Mistakes costly in loss to Wildcats

After starting the season 4-0, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have now lost two straight games to open Big Ten season after losing 21-13 to Northwestern on Saturday.

Minnesota actually out-gained Northwestern 327 yards to 275 and picked up 21 first downs to just 13 for the Wildcats, but as Minnesota blog The Daily Gopher points out, three turnovers by Minnesota to zero by Northwestern proved to be the difference:

A lot of the statistics favored Minnesota in this afternoon's game. They had a time of possession advantage over the Wildcats (33:57 to 26:03), and outgained the Wildcats yardage-wise by a tally of 327 to 275. However, the Gophers again got off to a slow start, and couldn't overcome turnovers, penalties, and sloppy play.

Minnesota falls two games behind Legends Division leaders Michigan and Iowa with the loss. The Gophers also have a more serious off-field situation on their minds as coach Jerry Kill had a seizure after the game. Kill missed time last season after suffering seizures as well. It is unknown whether he will miss games as a result of his latest seizure.

Jerry Kill Has Seizure After Gophers Loss

Wildcats At Gophers: Minnesota Loses On Homecoming, 21-13

The Minnesota Golden Gophers played a sloppy game on Saturday afternoon for Homecoming against the Northwestern Wildcats, and the result was their second consecutive loss, falling 21-13.

The Gophers had three turnovers on Saturday afternoon. Lamonte Edwards muffed the opening kickoff as Northwestern avoided return specialist Troy Stoudermire, and Northwestern took over at the Minnesota 26. Running back Venric Mark scored just one play later on a 26-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats intercepted MarQueis Gray early in the second quarter after a rare Northwestern three-and-out, and Mark scored his second touchdown just two plays later, going untouched from 48 yards out. To cap it off, Max Shortell was sacked on fourth down on the Gophers' final drive and fumled the football, with the Wildcats jumping on the loose ball to seal the victory.

The Gophers had to play musical quarterbacks on Saturday afternoon due to injuries. Max Shortell started, but injured his left arm during the first quarter of play, so Minnesota went back to Gray at quarterback. Gray had Minnesota's lone touchdown of the afternoon, a 25-yard dash on the first play of the second quarter, that cut the Northwestern lead to 14-10. However, Gray would get injured again in the third quarter, hurting the same leg that caused him to miss Minnesota's games against Western Michigan and Iowa, and Shortell went the rest of the way.

A lot of the statistics favored Minnesota in this afternoon's game. They had a time of possession advantage over the Wildcats (33:57 to 26:03), and outgained the Wildcats yardage-wise by a tally of 327 to 275. However, the Gophers again got off to a slow start, and couldn't overcome turnovers, penalties, and sloppy play.

Venric Mark absolutely mauled Minnesota in the first half of play, as he racked up 151 rushing yards and two scores before halftime, including four runs of more than 20 yards. He finished the game with 20 carries for 182 yards. Northwestern's quarterback rotation of Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian combined to go 11-for-17 for just 67 yards, although it wasn't really much of a rotation. . .Siemian only completed one of his seven attempts for four yards, with Colter going 10-for-10 for 63 yards. With the way Northwestern ran the ball on Saturday, the passing game was rightly an afterthought.

For Minnesota, Shortell and Gray combined to go 16-for-30 for 169 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Gray wound up being Minnesota's leading rusher, with nine carries for 83 yards and the 25-yard touchdown mentioned earlier. Donnell Kirkwood chipped in with 18 carries for 73 yards. A.J. Barker was Minnesota's leading receiver, with three grabs for 49 yards.

Northwestern was penalized eleven times for 93 yards on the afternoon, while the Gophers were flagged nine times for 82 yards.

Northwestern (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) hosts the Nebraska Cornhuskers next Saturday, while Minnesota (4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) travels to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe.

Wildcats At Gophers: Minnesota Comes Up Short On Fourth Down

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a chance to put themselves in a position to tie the Northwestern Wildcats, but came up short.

The Gophers started out on their own 12-yard line and, behind Max Shortell, quickly found themselves in Northwestern territory after an 18-yard pass to Isaac Fruechte and a 23-yard hit to A.J. Barker. A 16-yard rush on 3rd-and-4 by Rodrick Williams put Minnesota at the Northwestern 24.

Shortell appeared to have Fruechte wide open in the end zone on first down, but Shortell missed him with the pass. A slant to Barker on second down moved the ball to the Northwestern 8-yard line for a first and goal, and Donnell Kirkwood moved the ball to the 4. Shortell then fumbled an exchange from center to bring up third down, and an incomplete pass towards Barker brought up fourth down.

On that fourth down, Shortell was looking for a fade route to Andre MacDonald, but threw a pass that MacDonald couldn't possibly have caught, with the ball going out of the back of the end zone. Minnesota turned the ball over on downs, and Northwestern took over at their own 6-yard line.

Minnesota needs a stop now in order to have any shot. A first down or two by Northwestern will allow the Wildcats to run out the clock.

Just over two minutes left at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 21-13.

MarQueis Gray Injured Again; Max Shortell Back At Quarterback

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have made another switch at the quarterback position due to injury.

In the first quarter of this afternoon's match-up against the Northwestern Wildcats, starting quarterback Max Shortell suffered an injury to his left arm on a running play, and that caused Jerry Kill's team to go back to MarQueis Gray at quarterback. Gray had seen some snaps at wide receiver earlier in the game, but was forced back behind center as a result.

With the Gophers driving in the third quarter, Gray was on a run towards the right sideline and was cut down by a Northwestern defender. He came down awkwardly on the same leg that caused him to miss a couple of games earlier on in the season, and the Gophers have gone back to Max Shortell at quarterback.

Gray's ankle is heavily taped, and it is unknown at this point whether or not he will be returning to this game. If he is unable to go and Shortell gets banged up again, the red shirt will likely come off of freshman Philip Nelson.

The third quarter has just come to an end at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 21-13.

Wildcats At Gophers: Wettstein Makes It A One-Score Game

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have struck first in the second half, but still find themselves trailing early in the third quarter of play.

Minnesota forced the Northwestern Wildcats to go three-and-out on their first possession, and got good field position, starting at their own 49-yard line. After a couple of carries by Donnell Kirkwood (who has a new "M" on his helmet after losing his in the second quarter), MarQueis Gray found Andre MacDonald for a key first down to keep the drive going. Gray hit Isaac Fruechte for a nine-yard completion to move the ball deeper into Northwestern territory, but the drive stalled at the Northwestern 21-yard line.

Jordan Wettstein came on for this second field goal of the day, this one from 38 yards out, and knocked it right down the middle to give Minnesota three more points.

We've got 8:47 left in the third quarter of play at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers are trailing in their Homecoming game against the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 21-13.

Wildcats at Gophers: Northwestern leads Minnesota at half, 21-10

It has been the Venric Mark show for the Northwestern Wildcats against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Northwestern running back has already established a career-high in rushing yardage – we're at halftime, mind you – and has found the end zone twice in leading the Wildcats to a 21-10 lead over the Gophers on Homecoming Day at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Mark has carried the ball eight times for the Wildcats and picked up 151 yards on the ground, including four rushes of at least 20 yards. Mark scored for the Wildcats on Northwestern's first play from scrimmage, a 26-yard run after Minnesota fumbled the opening kickoff, and added a 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. In between, Kain Colter had a 2-yard touchdown run for the Wildcats.

Minnesota's lone touchdown came on their first play of the second quarter on a 25-yard run by the returning MarQueis Gray. Gray initially started out today's game with some snaps at wide receiver, including catching a 16-yard pass from Max Shortell in the first quarter, but moved back behind center after Shortell got injured on a run play midway through the first quarter.

Neither of these teams have done much through the air in this one, combining for just 99 passing yards through the first quarter of play (36 for Northwestern, 63 for Minnesota). However, both teams have run the ball well, with Northwestern already amassing 162 yards on the ground and Minnesota racking up 148.

Turnovers have been the big key in this game. Minnesota has turned the ball over twice, a fumble on the opening kickoff and an interception thrown by Gray after a rare three-and-out from the Northwestern offense. Both of those turnovers resulted in drives that culminated in Mark touchdown runs.

At halftime, the rain is really coming down in Minnesota. Expect continued emphasis on both teams' running games in the second half.

ANIMATION: Donnell Kirkwood Transfers To Innesota

Why do I call it Innesota? Because Donnell Kirkwood knocked the "M" out of Northwestern defender Ibraheim Campbell in the second quarter of the game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Northwestern Wildcats.

With the Gophers driving, they handed the ball to Kirkwood on six consecutive plays. On one of the plays, Kirkwood and Campbell met downfield after Kirkwood made a cut.

Kirkwood won. His helmet, and Campbell, lost. Have a look.

The announcing team from ESPN thought that the flying object was a mouth guard. However, after further review (and as you can see above), it was the "M" decal off of the right side of Kirkwood's helmet.

The drive ultimately stalled for the Gophers when they attempted a fake field goal on fourth down on the drive, and came up short of the marker.

Northwestern just attempted a fourth-down conversion of their own, but the pass was broken up by Minnesota's Troy Stoudermire. Minnesota takes over again with 6:12 left before halftime, trailing Northwestern by a score of 21-10.

Wildcats At Gophers: Venric Mark Strikes Again

Just when it looked like the Minnesota Golden Gophers were building up a little momentum, the Northwestern Wildcats took it away.

The Gophers forced a three-and-out from Northwestern after MarQueis Gray's 25-yard touchdown run, but on Minnesota's first play from scrimmage, Gray threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Northwestern's David Nwabuisi at the Northwestern 42-yard line.

It didn't take Northwestern long to capitalize from there, and once again it was Venric Mark that took it to the Gophers defense. Mark carried the ball two times for the Wildcats, with the second one being a 48-yard burst that, again, saw him go almost completely untouched through the Minnesota defense for a touchdown. Mark now has 134 yards on just seven carries for the Wildcats, and has registered two of Northwestern's three touchdowns.

An opportunity to take the lead for Minnesota ended in disaster, and now the Gophers have a bigger hole to dig out of. With 12:50 left until halftime at TCF Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 21-10.

Wildcats At Gophers: MarQueis Gray Finds The End Zone

It looks like MarQueis Gray has gotten over his injuries just fine, thank you.

On the Gophers' second possession of the afternoon, the returning Gray got to see quite a bit of time at quarterback due to an injury to Max Shortell. Gray moved the Gophers into Northwestern territory in a drive that went from the end of the first quarter to the start of the second quarter, completing three of his four pass attempts for 29 yards and getting the team deep into Northwestern territory.

On the first play of the second quarter, Gray took the snap from center, faked a handoff, and kept the ball on a running play. He weaved his way through the Northwestern defense, and eventually found himself in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown run. Jordan Wettstein's extra point made the score 14-10.

No word on exactly what the injury to Max Shortell is or how long he might be out of the game for. With Gray dealing with injuries of his own, we might have to keep an eye on freshman Philip Nelson if Gray should happen to get banged up again.

The second quarter is just barely underway at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 14-10.

Wildcats At Gophers: Northwestern Tacks On Another Touchdown

If today's game at TCF Bank Stadium keeps up at this pace, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are going to be in big trouble.

The Northwestern Wildcats started at their own 25-yard line after a touchback, and immediately went to work on the ground. After picking up their initial first down on the ground, the Wildcats again turned to Venric Mark, who went over the left side of the Northwestern offensive line and rumbled for 47 yards down to the Minnesota 13-yard line. The Wildcats got to a 3rd-and-2 at the Minnesota 5-yard line, and it appeared that the Gophers had the Wildcats stopped, but pass interference on Troy Stoudermire gave the Wildcats a fresh set of downs.

On the subsequent second down, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter. . .who has been alternating a bit with Trevor Siemian behind center. . .took the ball across the goal line from two yards out, and the extra point gave Northwestern a 14-3 lead.

Mark has been big for the Wildcats so far, as he has carried the ball five times for 77 yards in the early going. Minnesota is going to have to try to do something to contain him if they want to have any shot at coming back in this one. The fact that Northwestern has averaged about 11 yards a play in the early going certainly isn't doing the Gophers any favors, either.

With a little more than five minutes remaining in the first quarter at TCF Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 14-3.

Wildcats At Gophers: Minnesota Responds With Field Goal

After getting a chance to actually get their hands on the football, the Minnesota Golden Gophers responded to the Northwestern Wildcats' touchdown with a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

The Minnesota drive started at their own 10-yard line after returner K.J. Maye tripped over his own feet returning the subsequent kickoff. The Gophers got a couple of first downs on the ground, and then quarterback Max Shortell completed a 16-yard pass to. . .the returning MarQueis Gray, who has returned after missing a couple of games with an injury. That play got the Gophers to midfield, and Minnesota kept the drive going.

A completion to A.J. Barker got the Gophers some more yards, and a big personal foul penalty from a Northwestern defender grabbing Shortell's face mask got the Gophers into the Northwestern red zone, but they could get no further. The drive stalled at the Northwestern 14-yard line, and Jordan Wettstein connected on a field goal from 31 yards out to get the Gophers on the board.

We have just over nine minutes to go in the first quarter at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 7-3.

Wildcats At Gophers: Northwestern Takes Advantage Of Early Gopher Error

Things are off to a rip-roaring start at TCF Bank Stadium. . .if you're a fan of the Northwestern Wildcats, that is.

Northwestern kicked the ball off to start the game, and decided they'd kick away from Minnesota Golden Gophers return specialist Troy Stoudamire. The ball wound up in the hands of Lamonte Edwards, who attempted to advance the ball, but wound up fumbling at the Minnesota 26-yard line. Northwestern recovered the fumble, and were immediately in business.

It didn't take long for the Wildcats to cash in, as Northwestern immediately handed the ball to their star, Venric Mark. Mark blew through the middle of the Minnesota defense, and went into the end zone untouched for a 26-yard touchdown run to get things going for Northwestern.

It took Northwestern all of 11 seconds to do it, but they've taken an early 7-0 lead over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Homecoming Day at TCF Bank Stadium.

Northwestern vs. Minnesota 2012: Game time, TV schedule, odds and more

The Gophers and Wildcats look to restore their winning ways and sort out quarterback controversies Saturday.