Northwestern Tops Minnesota, 24-14, for Eighth Straight Road Win

11/17/2018 2:14:00 PM | Football

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – First-year running back Isaiah Bowser tied his career high with two rushing touchdowns and senior quarterback Clayton Thorson ran for his seventh TD of the season as No. 22 Northwestern (7-4, 7-1 Big Ten) earned its eighth straight road victory with a 24-14 win over Minnesota (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats extended their winning streak versus Big Ten West Division foes to 10-straight and they Improved to 7-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1996.

Thorson was 15-of-21 in the game with 230 yards. He ran for his seventh rushing TD of the season and 25th of his career. Bowser led the team with 29 rushing attempts on the day for 85 yards, including two touchdowns. This game marked the second time in Bowser's career that he rushed for two TD's in a single game as he also rushed for two against Rutgers on Oct. 20.

Senior linebacker Nate Hall picked up a career-high two interceptions in the game – both in the first quarter. Sophomore safety Travis Whillock has led Northwestern in tackles the last three games. He finished the game with a career-high 15 tackles, including 11 solo and two pass breakups. Sophomore linebacker Paddy Fisher posted 11 tackles on the day, with five solo, one sack and one tackle for loss.

On Minnesota's second drive of the game, Tanner Morgan's pass was tipped by redshirt first-year defensive back Cameron Ruiz, bounced off the Golden Gophers' player and then picked up by a diving Hall at the Northwestern 16-yard line. The Wildcats were unable to get anything going on the rest of the drive, but Hall intercepted Morgan's pass to Tyler Johnson on the very next drive for his second interception of the day, giving the 'Cats the ball at the Minnesota 45-yard line.

Redshirt first-year wide receiver Berkeley Holman rushed for a career-high 10 yards and Thorson completed a 22-yard pass to junior superback Cameron Green to move the 'Cats up to the Minnesota 11-yard line. A pass interference penalty on the Golden Gophers gave the Wildcats nine more yards. Bowser rushed for a two-yard touchdown up the middle at 2:20 in the first quarter to put Northwestern up 7-0.

On Minnesota's second drive of the second quarter, Mohamed Ibrahim completed an 11-play, 62-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run at 2:18 to tie the score at seven apiece.

On Northwestern's following possession, Thorson completed a 23-yard pass to junior wide receiver Bennett Skowronek to move the 'Cats up to the Minnesota 32-yard line. On the next play, Thorson threw a 19-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman to give Northwestern the ball on the 13-yard line. Thorson rushed for 13 yards down the sideline to score a touchdown with 1:12 left in the half. After a missed extra point attempt, the score stood at 13-7 heading into the locker room.

On Minnesota's first drive of the third quarter, the Golden Gophers put together a 46-yard drive up to the Northwestern 20-yard line. Emmit Carpenter missed the 38-yard field goal wide right though, preserving the Cats' six-point lead.

To start the fourth quarter, after a series of rushes by Bowser, Thorson completed a 17-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Riley Lees to move the 'Cats up to the their own 27-yard line. Three plays later, Thorson threw a 68-yard pass to JJ Jefferson who ran down the sideline before being tripped up at the Minnesota two-yard-line. Bowser ran for a two-yard touchdown at 11:07. Thorson successfully completed the two-point conversion with a pass to Green, completing a 92-yard scoring drive and putting the 'Cats ahead 21-7.

On the second play of Minnesota's following possession, junior defensive end Joe Gaziano sacked Morgan for a loss of nine yards, forcing a fumble on the play. Gaziano recovered the ball and rushed for eight yards to give the 'Cats the ball on the Minnesota 17-yard line. After a six-yard rush by Bowser, graduate punter Jake Collins converted a 29-yard field goal with 7:49 left in the game, giving Northwestern a three-score lead.

On Minnesota's next possession, back-to-back passes from Tanner to Tyler Johnson for 23 yards and then to Ibrahim for 11 more, gave the Golden Gophers the ball on the Northwestern 26-yard line. After the Wildcats defense broke up two passes to the endzone, Morgan completed a six-yard touchdown on third down to Johnson with 4:32 left to play, pulling Minnesota within 10.

With just over four minutes left in the game, the Northwestern secondary broke up two of Morgan's passes and then on fourth down, sophomore defensive end Earnest Brown IV sacked Morgan for a loss of five yards, forcing the Golden Gophers to turn the ball over on downs and securing a victory for the Wildcats.

Chicago's Big Ten team returns for its final regular season game of the year when it hosts Illinois at Ryan Field at 2:30 p.m. CT.

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