The Golden Gophers lost their spark from last week’s bowl-eligible win over Illinois as the 16th ranked Cornhuskers rolled on to a victory Saturday in Lincoln, Neb., 38-14.
The Gophers were out-matched for nearly the entire first half, as the Cornhuskers jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and added 14 more in the second half.
Minnesota showed some gusto just before half, though, when Nebraska — with the ball near the goal line with :02 to go in the quarter — opted to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal and were stopped cold by the Gophers defense.
The Cornhuskers ran the lead up to 38-0 by the fourth quarter, but the Gophers averted a shutout with 7:41 to go in the fourth when quarterback/wide receiver MarQueis Gray — in as a tailback — scored a touchdown run from the Wildcat formation.
Gray scored a second touchdown from the Wildcat formation from 6 yards out with 2:59 left, shortly after the Cornhuskers fumbled in their own territory.
The Gophers fell to 6-5 with the loss and 2-5 in the Big Ten.
The team wraps up its regular season next Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
As of last week, the Gophers were being considered to either play in either the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Phoenix or the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston — where they actually end up depends on how they fare in their last game on the schedule.
