There was no scoring in the third quarter, but there was quite a bit of action between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Gophers' first drive of the quarter reached the Northwestern 25-yard line, but came to an unfortunate end when Duane Bennett fumbled the ball and Northwestern recovered. The Gophers forced a three-and-out, but the Wildcats blasted a 77-yard punt. . .yes, seventy-seven yards. . .to pin the Gophers down at their own 4.
After the Gophers had to punt it away, the Wildcats took over and appeared to have a nice drive of their own going, but Dan Persa and his running back couldn't get together on the exchange, and they put the ball on the turf, with the Gophers recovering.
On the ensuing drive, the Gophers drove deep into Northwestern territory, thanks to a big 25-yard run by MarQueis Gray and a huge pass from Gray to Brandon Green to put the ball on the Northwestern 5-yard line. However, on a third down play, Gray tried to find Green on a slant, and it didn't appear as though Green was even looking for the ball. The ball was deflected, and intercepted by Northwestern in the end zone.
As we start the fourth quarter, the Wildcats are on the move with the ball at around midfield, still holding a 21-10 lead over the Golden Gophers in Evanston.