MINNEAPOLIS — Ironically, Saturday’s contest between Northwestern and Minnesota came down to the man whose missed point-after attempt nearly doomed the Wildcats.
And this time, senior kicker Stefan Demos came through in the clutch, booting a 27-yard field goal to give NU a thrilling 29-28 comeback win.
The game was sealed for the Cats (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) when junior linebacker Ben Johnson intercepted a tipped pass on a fourth-and-11 at the NU 40-yard-line with 17 seconds remaining.
Demos’ clutch play followed a circus touchdown catch by junior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert. He snatched the ball away from Minnesota cornerback Ryan Collado in the end zone to put the Cats within two.
Junior quarterback Dan Persa was mostly effective, completing 23-of-30 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns, but his two turnovers in the red zone – a fumble and an interception – were costly.
The Gophers scored 21 points off NU turnovers.
Persa also had 99 yards rushing.
Minnesota (1-4) was led by the powerful duo of quarterback Adam Weber and running back DeLeon Eskridge. Weber completed 14-of-23 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Eskridge ran for 119 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
