The Minnesota Golden Gophers used a second half rally to beat Western Illinois on Saturday and move to 3-0 to start the 2013 season.
The Gophers trailed Western Illinois 12-7 into the third quarter, and were without quarterback Philip Nelson who was hurt and coach Jerry Kill who was hospitalized with a seizure at halftime.
Nelson left in the second quarter with a right hamstring injury, according to the Star Tribune.
However, the Gophers used a second half ground surge to overwhelm the Leathernecks 29-12. Roderick Williams, and David Cobb each ran for a pair of touchdowns. Williams rushed for 56 yards, and Cobb ran for 82 yards. In all, the Gophers ran for 212 yards on the Leathernecks.
Trenton Norvell threw for two touchdowns and 162 yards in the contest for the Leathernecks.
Backup quarterback Mitch Leidnar did complete 7 of 8 passes for 105 yards in relief of the injured Nelson.
