The Elite, The Meh & The Ugly – Illinois

Bret Bielema has finally been vanquished

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-3) notched yet another fourth quarter comeback in Saturday’s 25-17 upset of the No. 24-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3) on the road.

The Elite

Darius Taylor. The Gophers were going to have room to run against an Illinois defensive front that has struggled to stop the run this season, and Taylor found it. He carried the ball 22 times for 131 rushing yards and one touchdown, in addition to nine receptions for 58 receiving yards. Taylor battled through a left quad issue and a left ankle problem in the first couple drives of the game to deliver a gutsy performance on the ground for Minnesota.

Another game-winning drive led by Max Brosmer. The game seemed to be following a familiar script after Minnesota’s failed punt fake in the fourth quarter, as the Fighting Illini marched 54 yards in five plays to take a 17-16 lead. But these are not your typical Gophers. On the second play of the next drive, Brosmer dropped a 37-yard dime down the sideline to Daniel Jackson, who beat cornerback Jaheim Clarke in his route and then made a difficult catch look casual. But the play of the drive was Brosmer’s one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jameson Geers, which was run out of the same formation as their usual quarterback sneak play.

The offensive line. With starting left guard Tyler Cooper out, Minnesota shifted Ashton Beers to left guard, moved Quinn Carroll inside to right guard, and gave redshirt freshman Phillip Daniels his first career start and the first meaningful snaps of his career. And I thought the offensive line held up well throughout the game. They gave up a couple sacks to a very aggressive Illinois defensive front, but they protected Brosmer enough and opened up consistent running lanes for Taylor and Marcus Major. I also thought Daniels acquitted himself well.

Jah Joyner. The Minnesota defensive end’s impact is rarely seen in the box score of games but anyone watching the games will tell you that he is a force to be reckoned with. As if he had grown tired of being overlooked on the stats sheet, Joyner waited until the last possible moment to make his mark on the box score, delivering a strip sack of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer in the final seconds. Rush end Danny Striggow fell on the fumble, sealing the victory for the Gophers.

Dragan Kesich. Since the bye week, Kesich is a perfect 6-for-6 in field goal attempts, including a 4-for-4 performance against the Fighting Illini. The Serbian Hammer accounted for 13 of Minnesota’ 25 points, with field goals of 20, 45, 38, and 46 yards. After starting the season 7-of-13 in field goal attempts, Kesich seems to have corrected whatever mechanical issue was ailing him.

Two wins over Top 25 teams. The Gophers have now beaten two Top 25 opponents this season, marking the first time since 2000 that Minnesota has notched a pair of Top 25 wins in the regular season. They’ve also won four straight Big Ten games for the first time since 2021. And with their sixth win, the Gophers are now bowl-eligible. No APR-aided 5-7 bowl game for this team.

The Bret Bielema curse is broken. Thank God.

The Meh

The Gopher defense. It is often feast or famine with Corey Hetherman’s defense, and this game was no different. Minnesota was solid against the run, but poor tackling allowed running back Josh McCray to bust a game-tying 42-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The pass defense only allowed one touchdown through the air, but Pat Bryant (5 receptions for 72 receiving yards) and Zakhari Franklin (5 receptions for 71 receiving yards) were able to get the better of the Gophers’ secondary at times. Third down continues to be a pain point for this defense, as Illinois was 7-of-13 on third down and Minnesota now ranks 16th in the Big Ten and 117th nationally in third down defense. But the Gophers also forced and recovered two fumbles.

The Ugly

Penalties. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy game for Minnesota from a penalties standpoint. The Gophers were flagged seven times for a total of 45 yards.