Mitch Leidner’s struggles during non-conference play helped create competitive games and narrow margins of victory, so any chance of a quarterback change for the Minnesota Golden Gophers had to be postponed. But the junior signal caller’s performance on Saturday against Northwestern, which included two turnovers in a 27-0 loss, made it a no-lose proposition for head coach Jerry Kill to put true freshman Demry Croft in the game during the fourth quarter.
On Sunday Kill downplayed the idea of a quarterback controversy, while also suggesting that Croft could see more playing time going forward. Leidner is all but certain to start next Saturday against Purdue, and that is the right decision at this point.