Minnesota's late TD sinks NIU

Posted August 30, 2008 11:00 pm

Associated Press

Duane Bennett pushed his way in for a 1-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left to lift Minnesota to a 31-27 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Coach Tim Brewster, who doubled his career victory total after a 1-11 season, told his guys to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 3-yard line after calling their final timeout with 38 seconds remaining. Bennett charged forward for 2 yards on that play, before muscling the ball in for the winner, his second TD of the game.

That spoiled Huskies coach Jerry Kill's first game with his new team, a strong performance on the road against a Big Ten foe that featured touchdown catches by freshman Nathan Palmer - of 91 yards and 53 yards - in the second half to erase a 24-13 Minnesota lead.

Palmer blew by cornerback Ryan Collado on both plays, a familiar sight for fans of this team after an abysmal 2007 season in which the Gophers finished last among the 119 major teams in the nation in yards allowed.

Northern Illinois reached the Minnesota 30 on a desperation drive in the closing seconds and had two shots at the end zone, but both of Chandler Harnish's passes were knocked down.

Arkansas 28, W. Illinois 24: Casey Dick scored on a 4-yard run with 1:49 remaining, and host Arkansas avoided disaster in Bobby Petrino's first game as coach, rallying to beat Western Illinois. The Razorbacks trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter, but Dick found Greg Childs over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown, then led an 83-yard drive for the winning score.

Marshall 35, Illinois St. 10: Darius Marshall rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, and Darius Passmore caught 2 touchdown passes to lead host Marshall to a victory over Illinois State. Passmore's touchdowns covered 88 and 13 yards, and Marshall's 10-yard score gave the Thundering Herd a 28-10 lead with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter. Passmore finished with 4 catches for 111 yards.

Illinois State quarterback Kevin Brockway was 20-for-38 for 196 yards and an interception. Eyad Salem had a 4-yard touchdown reception for the Redbirds.