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By ANDREW SELIGMAN, AP Sports Writer
      

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Dan Persa threw for 216 yards and two
touchdowns, and Northwestern won its fourth straight, beating
Minnesota 28-13 on Saturday.


      Venric Mark came through with two big kickoff returns as the
Wildcats (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten) scored touchdowns on their first three
possessions to build a 21-7 lead. That set the tone as Northwestern
became eligible for its fourth straight bowl appearance.


      If it seems like a modest accomplishment, consider where this
team was when this streak began.


      The Wildcats lost five in a row after winning their first two
and appeared to be going nowhere, but they turned it around in a
big way with lopsided wins over Indiana and Rice sandwiched around
a tight stunner at Nebraska.


      Minnesota (2-9, 1-6) had two deep drives stall, settling for a
field goal after getting to the Wildcats' 10 in the second quarter
and coming away with nothing late in the third, when it was
threatening to make it a four-point game.


      Instead, Ibraheim Campbell tipped a 9-yard pass intended for
Brandon Green in the end zone and Brian Peters made the
interception. That led to an 80-yard Northwestern drive, with Jacob
Schmidt running it in from the 1 on a pitch to make it 28-10 early
in the fourth and seal the victory.

Coming off a career performance against Rice, Persa was sharp
again after throwing for a personal-best 372 yards and matching a
high with four TD passes. He was 22 of 31 with an interception.
   


   Jeremy Ebert had a relatively quiet day with 62 yards receiving
after setting career highs the previous two weeks with 147 yards
against Nebraska and 208 against Rice.
      


Mark's 44-yard return on the opening kickoff and 42-yarder on
Northwestern's next possession both led to touchdowns, giving the
Wildcats an early lead that ultimately stood.
     

 The Golden Gophers, meanwhile, got solid performances from
MarQueis Gray and Duane Bennett but simply couldn't pull this one
out.


      Gray ran for 147 yards and a touchdown and threw for 124, but
completed just 9 of 21 passes and got picked off once. Bennett
finished with a season-high 127 yards rushing, 78 in the first
half.

Gallery

Sports

The Golden Gophers got solid performances from
MarQueis Gray and Duane Bennett but couldn't pull this one out. Minnesota is now 2-9 under first-year coach Jerry Kill.

Gophers lose to Northwestern, 28-13

Go Deeper.

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