Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Oct 26, 2013

Minnesota 34, No. 21 Nebraska 23: David Cobb set career highs with 31 carries and 138 yards while Philip Nelson threw for a touchdown and ran for two more as the Golden Gophers ended a 16-game losing streak against the Cornhuskers.

Nelson passed for 152 yards and ran for 55 more for Minnesota (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten), which rushed for 271 yards and defeated Nebraska (5-2, 2-1) for the first time since 1960. Mitch Leidner, who started the game at quarterback, scored the first of three rushing touchdowns for the Golden Gophers.

Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah rushed for a game-high 165 yards while Taylor Martinez threw for 139 yards, a touchdown and a late interception in his first action since Sept. 14. The Cornhuskers’ defense surrendered 430 total yards after yielding an average of 294 in convincing wins over Illinois and Purdue to open conference play.

The Cornhuskers scored on each of their first two possessions to establish a 10-point advantage, but Nelson took over for Leidner midway through the second quarter and put the Golden Gophers ahead on a 33-yard strike to Derrick Engel on a fourth-and-10 play. Nelson’s 1-yard sneak and Chris Hawthorne’s 45-yard field goal stretched the margin to 27-13 with 2:33 left in the third quarter.

Martinez’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Sam Cotton halved the deficit and Pat Smith’s third field goal with 9:26 remaining in the fourth quarter moved Nebraska within 27-23. Minnesota forced a three-and-out on the Cornhuskers’ next drive and Sam Foltz’s 27-yard punt out of his own end zone allowed the Golden Gophers to put the game away on another 1-yard sneak by Nelson with 48 seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota recorded four sacks, one more than the total Nebraska had allowed over its first six games. … The Cornhuskers entered Saturday ranked 10th in the country in rushing with 284.8 yards per game, but was held to 189. … Nebraska had won each of the previous 12 meetings by at least 24 points.