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University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
4-3 , 1-2
Nebraska
3-4 , 1-2
Gophers Fall to Nebraska 48-25
10/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
MINNEAPOLIS -- Tommy Armstrong Jr. bounced back from a pair of bad performances to start Big Ten play, passing for 261 yards and three touchdowns to start the salvaging of Nebraska's season and preserve a 48-25 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
Terrell Newby rushed for 116 yards and two first-half scores on just 13 carries for the Cornhuskers (3-4, 1-2), who were reeling from four losses this fall on the opponent's final offensive play.
This one was a lot less stressful, though Mitch Leidner did his best to keep the Gophers (4-3, 1-2) competitive against Nebraska's FBS-worst pass defense with career bests in completions (26) and yards (301). Leidner threw two late interceptions, one that was returned by Joshua Kalu for a 41-yard touchdown, but he threw for one score and ran for another.
Alonzo Moore, Cethan Carter and De'Mornay Pierson-El were the touchdown targets by Armstrong, who completed only 36 percent of his passes for a total of 234 yards in losses to Illinois and Wisconsin the last two weeks.
Pierson-El, who fumbled near the goal line in the closing minutes of Minnesota's 28-24 win at Nebraska last year, missed the first four games with a foot injury. He had a 42-yard punt return and the catch of the game in the corner of the end zone early in the fourth quarter when he tipped the ball to himself between two defensive backs.
Carter reached to push the ball over the pylon in the third quarter for a 10-yard score, deftly using his other arm for balance while Antonio Johnson was trying to tackle him. That marked the end of a 99-yard march in 10 plays by the Huskers, the defining stretch against an injury-affected Gophers defense that had been so good this season.
The troubling part of the first half for the Gophers was that Leidner was as sharp as he's ever been, completing 16 of 17 passes for 156 yards before the break, but they still took a 10-point deficit into the locker room.
Right after Minnesota's first touchdown in the first quarter this season, a 75-yard opening drive capped by a 24-yard catch on third-and-1 by Eric Carter, Nebraska answered in three plays. Newby galloped through a gaping hole in the middle and bounced outside to reach the end zone untouched for 69 yards.
After grinding up Purdue on the ground last week for a 41-13 victory, the Gophers rushed for only 65 yards on 26 attempts with Huskers defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine doing plenty of damage inside.
Team Stats
NEB 0, MINN 7
MINN - Carter, Eric 24 yd pass from Leidner, Mitch (Santoso, Ryan kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:46
NEB 7, MINN 7
NEB - Newby, Terrell 69 yd run (Brown, Drew kick), 3 plays, 82 yards, TOP 1:22
NEB 14, MINN 7
NEB - Moore, Alonzo 32 yd pass from Armstrong (Brown, Drew kick) 3 plays, 29 yards, TOP 0:53
NEB 17, MINN 7
NEB - Brown, Drew 45 yd field goal 16 plays, 63 yards, TOP 6:32
NEB 17, MINN 14
MINN - Maye, KJ 7 yd run (Santoso, Ryan kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:44
NEB 24, MINN 14
NEB - Newby, Terrell 9 yd run (Brown, Drew kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:07
NEB 31, MINN 14
NEB - Carter, Cethan 10 yd pass from Armstrong (Brown, Drew kick) 10 plays, 99 yards, TOP 5:47
NEB 38, MINN 14
NEB - Pierson-El, D. 14 yd pass from Armstrong (Brown, Drew kick) 6 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:06
NEB 38, MINN 22
MINN - Leidner, Mitch 1 yd run (Maye, KJ pass), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:29
NEB 38, MINN 25
MINN - Santoso, Ryan 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 4:01
NEB 41, MINN 25
NEB - Brown, Drew 41 yd field goal 7 plays, 38 yards, TOP 3:43
NEB 48, MINN 25
NEB - Kalu, Joshua 41 yd interception (Brown, Drew kick)
