With two touchdowns Saturday, Minnesota tailback Marion Barber III tied the school’s single-season record of 13 rushing scores.
Barber’s 31-yard scamper in the third quarter tied him with Darrell Thompson (1987) and Jim Perkins (1976) for the all-time record. He also tied and passed his father, Marion Barber Jr., who is third on the list with 12 (1979).
“I actually wasn’t (aware of it) until I was told in the locker room after the game,” Barber said. “It’s just a great offensive line that works hard and came ready to play today.”
Barber has equaled the record in just six games this year, and with the season only half over, he should have little problem breaking the record, barring injury.
Playing without the lead
Minnesota players drew praise from their coaches for responding well to the adversity they faced after falling behind on the scoreboard for the first time this season.
“I think it gives the team confidence,” Hudson said. “It’s the first time we’ve got behind this year. We didn’t flinch, and we came from behind and won a big game on the road.”
Coach Glen Mason credited his team’s experience.
“A year ago, there’s no way could we have done that on defense because we were just too young,” Mason said. “Now they understand.”
Lloyd misses first kick
Gophers kicker Rhys Lloyd, who had been a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals prior to Saturday, missed his first collegiate field goal when a 26-yarder was wide right late in the third quarter.
Lloyd has already connected on kicks of 54 and 52 yards this season and made a pair of field goals that were the difference in a 20-14 win over Penn State on Sept. 27.
Lloyd has made all 31 of his extra-point attempts and has also handled punting duties in Minnesota’s past four games.
West shifts to drop spot
Minnesota linebacker Ben West saw a good portion of the game Saturday at drop linebacker with regular starter Kyle McKenzie sidelined with an elbow injury.
Brian Smith holed up West’s spot in the lineup for most of the game, and Mario Reese saw playing time as well.
“For me, it wasn’t that big of a switch,” West said. “I played drop for my first two years here.”
West recorded eight tackles, Smith had six with one for-loss, and Reese recorded three.
Jackson gets the ball
Minnesota tailback Terry Jackson II carried the ball eight times for 35 yards on Saturday just one week after spending the entire game on the sideline.
The Gophers went with Barber for the entire first half, before Thomas Tapeh gained 48 yards in the third quarter. Jackson and freshman Laurence Maroney saw all of their carries late in the fourth quarter with Minnesota comfortably in front.
Patrick extends streak
With a seven-yard reception in the first quarter, Northwestern senior wide receiver Kunle Patrick extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 40 games.
Patrick’s current streak is the longest of its kind in the nation. He caught three passes for 29 yards on Saturday and now has 158 receptions in his collegiate career.