Bennett's Late Touchdown Gives Gophers Season-Opening Win

Duane Bennett plunged in from the one-yard line with 22 seconds left as Minnesota opened the 2008 season by rallying for a 31-27 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday at the Metrodome.

Bennett picked up a fourth-and-one on the Huskies’ three-yard line on the preceding play and then plunged in for the score on first down from the one. Bennett, who finished with 92 yards on 18 carries, was hit initially and forced his way over the goal line with a second effort. Minnesota then survived a final threat from the Huskies, who drove to the 30-yard line with eight seconds left before wide receiver Eric Decker, playing in the secondary, batted away two consecutive passes in the end zone.

“Explosive plays hurt us tonight, but we showed a lot of resilience,” Minnesota coach Tim Brewster. “Adam Weber showed a lot of character and he made plays at the end when he had to.”

The win snapped Minnesota’s school-record 10-game losing streak from the 2007 season that was tied with two other streaks. It was the Gophers’ first fourth-quarter game-winning touchdown since Nov. 18, 2000 in a 27-24 win over Iowa. It was the first time Minnesota scored a game-winning touchdown in the final minute since Cory Sauter connected with Tutu Atwell from 18 yards out for a 26-23 win over Ball State with 15 seconds left on Sept. 14, 1996.

Northern Illinois, which was 2-10 a year ago, was playing its first game under head coach Jerry Kill. It was just the second all-time meeting between the schools with Minnesota claiming a 31-20 win in 1988 at the Metrodome.

Before his defensive stand, Decker had a big day on offense as well with 10 catches for 89 yards. Six of his receptions came on the Gophers’ impressive game-opening drive when he finished an 18-play, 90-yard possession with an eight-yard pass from Adam Weber. The Gophers held the ball for the game’s first 8:57 and were four-for-four on third down. Weber was eight-for-nine on the opening drive and finished the game 24-for-37 for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

Northern Illinois tied the game with a two-yard run from Justin Anderson with 10:45 left in the first half before Minnesota regained the advantage on a 40-yard field goal from Joel Monroe with 6:02 left before halftime. The Gophers’ score was set up by a fumble recovery by Garrett Brown at the Huskies’ 49-yard line. Decker caught apparent 23-yard touchdown on a third-and-nine play just prior to the field goal, but the pass was ruled incomplete and video replay proved inconclusive to overturn the call.

Northern Illinois’ Chad Spann blocked a Gophers’ punt with 2:40 left in the first half and Tracy Wilson recovered at the Minnesota 27-yard line to set up a 39-yard field goal with Mike Salerno with 55 seconds left that tied the game 10-10 heading into halftime.

The second half was full of big plays with each team scoring two touchdowns of 50 yards or more. Minnesota struck first in the second half following a Huskies’ punt. On the Gophers’ third play from scrimmage, Weber hit senior tight end Jack Simmons for a 53-yard touchdown. Simmons took advantage of a busted coverage and was wide open down the left sideline. After making the catch, he juked one defender and then raced to the endzone to put the Gophers ahead 17-10 with 11:25 left in the third quarter.

Northern Illinois pulled to within 17-13 when it drove 40 yards in eight plays and got a 49-yard field goal from Salerno. However, on Minnesota’s next play, the Gophers extended their lead on a 61-yard touchdown run by Bennett. After taking the handoff, Bennett raced around the left side, broke one tackle and sprinted untouched to the endzone and a 24-13 lead with 8:07 left in the third quarter.

A penalty on the Huskies’ kick return started their next drive at their own nine-yard line. Minnesota’s defense stuffed the Huskies on their first two plays, but following a timeout before a third-and-10 play, Chandler Harnish hit Nathan Palmer across the middle and he raced 91 yards for a touchdown, pulling the Huskies within 24-20 with 6:59 left in the third quarter. It was the first career catch for Palmer, who fought off a Gopher defender to catch the ball before spinning away and sprinting downfield for the fifth-longest scoring play in Northern Illinois history.

Palmer struck again in the fourth quarter, catching a 52-yard touchdown from Harnish on a third-and-10 play to put the Huskies ahead for the first time at 27-24 with 8:09 remaining. Palmer got a step on his defender and hauled in the low pass with a basket catch and took off for the score. Palmer also had a big catch earlier in the possession with a 27-yard catch on a third-and-nine play. The freshman receiver finished the night with three catches for 170 yards, marking the 13th-highest single-game receiving total in Northern Illinois history.

Minnesota nearly had a big play on its ensuing drive when Weber hit Ralph Spry for a 16-yard completion to the Huskies’ 39-yard line, but as Spry was stumbling to the ground, Huskies’ linebacker Josh Allen stripped the ball and Larry English recovered to give Northern Illinois possession with 6:07 left in the game.

The Gophers stopped Northern Illinois on three plays and took over at their own 26-yard line with 5:15 remaining. Weber connected on his first six passes of the winning drive, including back-to-back completions to Nick Tow-Arnett for passes of 23 and 17 yards, respectively, to get the Gophers to the Huskies’ 12-yard line. Minnesota ran three straight rushing plays totaling nine yards to set up a fourth-and-one at the three-yard line with 39 seconds left. Bennett rushed up the middle for two yards to the one-yard line before the game-winning score.

Harnish threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns on 17-for-29 passing for the Huskies, who managed just 72 yards rushing on 31 carries. The Gophers outgained Northern Illinois 425-398 for the game. Minnesota’s tight ends, Tow-Arnett and Simmons, combined for 143 yards receiving on seven catches.

The Gophers travel to Bowling Green next week to take on the Falcons, who beat Minnesota 32-31 in overtime last season and knocked off 25th-ranked Pittsburgh on Saturday.

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