Sports

Gophers Take Lumps In Win Over Indiana

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― For Adam Weber and Eric Decker, a banged-up knee and a pretty big headache never felt so good.

Two of Minnesota's biggest stars went down with injuries on Saturday against Indiana, but both picked themselves up off the turf and returned to the game to help the Gophers to their first Big Ten victory since 2006.

Weber injured his right knee in the first quarter on a sack by Jammie Kirlew and Decker was knocked silly when he was sandwiched between two Indiana defenders in the fourth quarter. Both were able to overcome the injuries in gritty performances that helped snap a nine-game Big Ten losing streak in the 16-7 win over Indiana.

Coach Tim Brewster was sore just watching his players duke it out with the Hoosiers.

"I feel like I've been through a 15-round heavyweight fight," Brewster said.

Cornerback Marcus Sherels (shoulder) and offensive lineman Dom Alford (left leg) left the game with injuries that may be more serious.

"Obviously losing Marcus Sherels will be a tough one for us if we lose him for a little bit," Brewster said. "Hopefully we won't lose him for long. He's an outstanding player that we don't want to lose."

That Weber and Decker -- the two unquestioned leaders of the offense -- were able to shake off their ailments and return to the game gave a struggling Gophers offense a big lift as the day wore on.

Decker had 13 catches for 190 yards and was injured on the last of those grabs that converted a crucial third down. He wobbled to the sideline, but returned for the remaining series and even was back to receive a punt because Sherels was out of the game.

"Eric's a tough guy. It was great to see him come back after a big head injury like that," Weber said. "I think that just shows the mentality on this team. You only have so many games and none of them are promised, so keep on fighting."

Weber showed plenty of toughness himself after being crunched by Kirlew on the final play of the opening series of the game.

"I couldn't put weight on my knee. As soon as I went down, I said, 'Oh shoot, this can't be good,"' Weber said. "But it's OK, it's one of those things where it got a little swollen, but thankfully it wasn't anything with any of my ligaments. It was just a little bone bruise."

Weber, who was sacked four times and pressured countless others by an aggressive Indiana front four, returned on the next series, spun away from Kirlew and threw a 40-yard pass to Jeff Tow-Arnett to set up the team's only touchdown of the day.

He finished 22-of-37 for 274 yards, and Brewster said his young offensive line has to do a better job of keeping Weber out of harm's way.

"We did not do a real good job protecting Adam," he said. "We've got to clean that up."

Decker's injury was scarier still because he had been the lone offensive threat to that point in a game that traditionally has been a shootout, but surprisingly turned into a slugfest.

"He's a vital part of what we do offensively," Brewster said. "I wanted to run out on the field myself and make sure he was OK because he is that important to our team."

After clearing the cobwebs and assuring team trainers and coaches that he was OK, Decker pleaded to get back into the game to try and seal up Minnesota's first conference victory since a season-ending win over Iowa in 2006.

"I'm trying to do all I can for this team because I want to win just as bad as anybody," Decker said. "Getting up and trying to get back on the field shows a lot of character and the linemen and the running backs build off that. I'm just trying to be a leader, not really in talking so much, but just showing."

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