EVANSTON, ILL. – One more defensive stop. Or one more first down gained. That’s all the Gophers needed to win in regulation.

Instead, they blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead to Northwestern, which got the tying 11-yard touchdown pass from Ben Bryant to A.J. Henning with 2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Then in overtime, Minnesota settled for Dragan Kesich’s 20-yard field goal, and the Wildcats, on their first play of the extra session, got a 25-yard touchdown pass on throwback play from Bryant to a wide-open Charlie Mangieri for a 37-34 victory at Ryan Field.

The loss dropped the Gophers to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern improved to 2-2 and 1-1.

The Gophers got the ball first overtime and reached the 10 on Athan Kaliakmanis’ 15-yard completion to Corey Crooms Jr. After Bryce Williams gained 7 yards on first-and-goal, Williams got 1 on second down. Kaliakmanis threw high for tight Brevyn Spann-Ford near the end zone on third down.

The loss spoiled a big day for Gophers true freshman running back Darius Taylor, who rushed 31 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Kaliakmanis completed his first eight passes as the Gophers built a 24-7 halftime lead and finished 14-for-19 for 191 yards and two TDs.

Bryant shredded the Gophers for 396 yards and four TDs, while Wildcats receiver Bryce Kirtz caught 10 passes for 215 yards and two TDs, including an 80-yarder.