Sep 7, 2008 12:23 pm US/Central
Weber Leads Minnesota Past Bowling Green, 42-17
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) ―
Minnesota's Adam Weber admitted it wasn't a thing of beauty, but his grab of an errant snap may have saved the Gophers from disaster against Bowling Green.
Weber threw three touchdown passes Saturday and made a nifty grab of his own in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota beat Bowling Green 42-17 on Saturday night.
Clinging to a 21-17 lead, Weber was lined up in the shotgun on third down when he leaped high to grab the ball, spun around and flung a 14-yard pass to Ben Kuznia, keeping a drive alive.
"It may not have looked pretty as some plays," Weber said with a chuckle. "It's just one of those things."
Five plays later, he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to the diving Eric Decker that put Minnesota ahead 28-17 with 10:41 left in the game.
The Gophers then turned a pair of Bowling Green turnovers into two touchdowns, sealing the victory.
Minnesota (2-0) has doubled its win total from a year ago when the Gophers finished 1-11 in coach Tim Brewster's first season.
Brewster tried not to get too excited. "I'm not going to go overboard," he said.
But he couldn't mask how much the victory meant.
"We've been through a lot of hard times together," Brewster said. "It's a very rewarding moment for our players."
For many of the Gophers, including Weber, it's their first road victory at Minnesota. "Coach told us he had something special planned for the trip home," Weber said.
The Gophers took advantage of Bowling Green's mistakes in the second half -- the Falcons (1-1) lost four fumbles and Tyler Sheehan threw an interception.
"The teams that have beaten Bowling Green have forced them to turn the football over," Brewster said.
Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon blamed the mistakes for the loss. "No question about it," he said.
It all started when Roger Williams fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, giving the Gophers the ball at the 21.
Weber spotted Nick Tow-Arnett in the back of the end zone where he made a diving 8-yard catch and gave the Gophers a 21-10 lead.
Sheehan's interception then set up Weber's scoring pass to Decker.
Bowling Green moved the ball easily at times against the Gophers, who a year ago finished last among the 119 major teams in the nation in yards allowed.
Sheehan threw for 261 yards and the Falcons used multiple formations and three quarterbacks to confuse the Gophers.
But turnovers killed any chance Bowling Green had to notch a second straight win against a team from one of the six power conferences. The Falcons opened their season last week, knocking off Pitt, which started the season at No. 25.
The Gophers beat another MAC opponent in its opener, getting by Northern Illinois 31-27 with a touchdown in the final minute.
Weber was 21-of-25 passing for 233 yards. "The numbers are a little deceiving," he said. "A lot of them were little flares."
He was perfect on the opening drive Saturday, completing all four passes. He found running back Duane Bennett all alone near the right sideline for a 34-yard touchdown that put the Gophers ahead 7-0 just four minutes into the game.
The Falcons started alternating Sheehan and Anthony Turner at quarterback in the second quarter with success.
Turner, a former quarterback turned receiver, ran four times for 24-yards, the last a 1-yard touchdown run that tied it at 7 with 9:06 left in the half.
Minnesota answered two minutes later with a 48-yard scoring drive set up Troy Stoudermire's 48-yard kickoff return. Eric Decker took a long pitch from Weber and raced 12-yards to put the Gophers up 14-7.
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