Minnesota Golden Gophers at Northwestern Wildcats

Olsen's 3rd field goal of game lifts Northwestern to wild 38-35 win over Minnesota

Olsen's boot capped a 14-play, 60-yard drive as Northwestern rebounded from a 28-13 third-quarter deficit. Minnesota's Brady Denaburg's 40-yard field-goal attempt as time expired went wide to the left, and the Wildcats (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) held on for their first victory ever at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs in eight tries dating to 1923.

“It think you saw two football team that are awfully resilient and that are willing to duke it out for four quarters,” Northwestern coach David Braun said. “I'm really proud of our finish.”

Preston Stone threw for two touchdowns and 305 yards on 25-for-30 passing. Caleb Komolafe hauled in his first reception touchdown this season and ran for another to increase his season total 11 TDs and finish with 129 total yards. Griffin Wilde had 111 yards receiving with a TD and Joseph Himon II rushed for a score.

Stone took charge in the second half, connecting on all of his 15 passes.

“I thought Preston played fearless," Braun said. "He wasn't pressing, but he wasn't, like, anxious either. He just let the game come to him. It was just his command. He had urgency today.

“The guys supported him. There were some great catches out there today. The O-line did a great job of protecting. The offense was in a rhythm.”

Stone, a graduate transfer from Southern Methodist, gave his teammates credit.

“It was very rewarding,” Stone said, “This might be the most complete game I've ever been a part of in college football. The O-line kept my jersey clean. All the receivers making plays. The Beast (Komolafe) and Joe (Himan) were toting the ball.”

Minnesota's Drake Lindsey was almost as impressive as Stone. He passed for four touchdowns — three to Javon Tracy — but Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) lost its second straight.

Lindsey, a 20-year-old redshirt freshman, finished with 264 yards on 20-for-30 passing. He started connecting consistently after Northwestern got out to 10-0 and 13-7 leads after it scored on its first three possessions.

“I thought he took really good command of the offense,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said.

“I though our wideouts, our O-line and our running backs executed really well,” Lindsey added," but it's obviously not enough. Obviously (Tracy) had a great day and made some great catches.”.

Linsdey hit Lemeke Brockington with an 8-yard pass for his fourth TD with 8:20 left in the fourth as Minnesota tied it 35 all on a six-play, 75-yard drive. Komolafe's second touchdown of the game, on a short pass from Stone had put Northwestern ahead two minutes earlier.

Northwestern dominated in total yards, 525-323 thanks to a 220-59 advantage in rushing in a game that became a shootout after a choppy, penalty-filled first quarter.

Darius Taylor rushed for Minnesota’s first touchdown and 43 yards. Koi Perich had a 93-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.

Tracy had his first multi-TD game with the Golden Gophers and upped his season total to six. The transfer from Miami (Ohio) became the first Minnesota player with three TD receptions in a game since Rashod Bateman, now with the Baltimore Ravens, did it against Northwestern on Nov. 23, 2019.

The takeaway Minnesota: Lindsey, Tracy and the passing game were impressive, but Minnesota couldn't protect or build on a 28-13 lead it opened early in the third quarter — and couldn't bounce back from a 42-13 loss at No. 6 Oregon last week. It was a third straight game where Minnesota allowed an opponent over 450 total yards. “We just didn't cover well enough,” Fleck said.

Northwestern: The Wildcats rebounded from a 24-22 loss to Michigan at Wrigley Field last week when Dominic Zvada kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired. With their sixth win, Northwestern is bowl-eligible for the second time in Braun’s three seasons.

Up next Minnesota hosts Wisconsin on Saturday to conclude its regular season

Northwestern plays at Illinois on Saturday in its regular-season finale.