EVANSTON, ILL. – For most football teams, uncertainty at the quarterback position is termed a controversy, or at least a competition.
For the Gophers, it's more like a co-op.
Mitch Leidner started on Saturday, when the Gophers beat Northwestern 20-17 at Ryan Field. Philip Nelson threw more passes and ran more often, and his 29-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter provided the Gophers' only offensive touchdown.
Nelson threw more effectively. Leidner ran a little more effectively. Neither played well enough to become the clear-cut frontrunner to win the job, and neither played poorly enough to lose the job.
Tracy Claeys, the Gophers acting head coach, didn't sound eager to pick one over the other. He said the plan was to play both quarterbacks. When Nelson enjoyed immediate success, he became more than a change-of-pace.
"I said all week we were going to play Philip for a series," Claeys said. "And we had decent field position there so it made sense to get him a series and get him in there and so that was kind of the plan.
"And then the second half, we put Mitch back in there, Philip got another series. I told the guys I'd really like for Philip to get another series in the second half just in case. So when we put Philip in there the second time, it just seemed like we moved the ball a little bit more.
"The later it got in the game, the experience part [became a factor]. … Philip's been in those situations. I think it's important to have somebody in those situations when you're managing the clock and trying to run the clock out."
