Minnesota 28, Western Michigan 23: Max Shortell came off the bench to throw three touchdown passes, lifting host Minnesota past Western Michigan.

A.J. Barker had five receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns for the Golden Gophers, who are off to their first 3-0 start since winning their first four games in 2008.

Shortell, forced into action due to an ankle injury to starter MarQueis Gray late in the first quarter, connected on a pair of scoring strikes to Barker - a 9-yard score and a 53 yarder - in the final 1:59 of the first half to give Minnesota a 21-10 lead at intermission.

Shortell also hit Drew Goodger with a 9-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter and finished 10 of 17 for 188 yards with one interception.

Dareyon Chance rushed for a career-high 144 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown for the Broncos (1-2), who fell to 0-2 against Big Ten opponents after losing to Illinois 24-7 in the season opener. Alex Carder threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jaime Wilson with 4:18 to play to bring Western Michigan within 28-23.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Gray was carted off the field with an apparent left ankle injury late in the second quarter. He connected on 3 of 6 passes for 29 yards and a TD and rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries before he was hurt. ... Chance's previous high for rushing was 58 yards on seven carries last week against Eastern Illinois. ... Barker, a walk-on, set Minnesota state records for touchdowns (50) and receiving yards (4,018) in high school.