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Minnesota chasing January 1 bowl game

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:53 AM Northwestern (6-2) at (20) Minnesota (7-1), 12:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Minnesota may not win the Big Ten championship this season, but the Golden Gophers are bidding for their first New Year's Day bowl game in nearly 50 years.

The 20th-ranked Golden Gophers continue that quest Saturday when they host Northwestern in a battle of teams trying to solidify their respective bowl position.

Minnesota (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) has not played in a New Year's Day bowl game since defeating UCLA, 21-3, in the 1962 Rose Bowl.

The Golden Gophers, who won just one game a year ago, continued their remarkable turnaround last week with a 17-6 victory over Purdue, earning their first win in West Lafayette since 1990.

Still, Minnesota has some injury concerns heading into this week's game, as quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker are both banged up.

Weber's 39-yard run in the fourth quarter punctuated Minnesota's win over the Boilermakers, but he was sacked four times and continues to take a lot of punishment.

According to the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis, Weber suffered what first appeared to be a broken nose, but Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said further tests on Sunday did not show a fracture. However, the sophomore has undergone minor knee surgery in the last two weeks.

"He makes me crazy the way he attacks the tackler at the end of runs," Brewster said. "I've talked to him about it, and Adam is just a hard-nosed kid. I want him in one piece."

Weber ranks third in the Big Ten in total offense while completing 67.1 percent of his passes. His favorite target is Decker, the Big Ten's leader in receptions (66) and yards (833) despite battling an assortment of injuries.

Northwestern (6-2, 2-2) won its first five games this year, but some of the luster from the strong start has been lost as the Wildcats have dropped two of their last three games, including last week's 21-19 loss to Indiana. Northwestern self-destructed with five turnovers against the lowly Hoosiers.

Last season, Northwestern outlasted Minnesota, 49-48, in double overtime in one of the wildest games of the year. The Wildcats erased a 35-14 deficit in the final 16 minutes of regulation.

Weber threw five touchdowns in the game, while Northwestern's C.J. Bacher passed for 470 yards and four scores.