The Minnesota Gophers are ranked #20 in the nation, they currently have sole possession of 1st place in the Big Ten West, and they just added a 2-year extension for Head Coach PJ Fleck which locks him in through 2028. After starting the season 2-2, the Gophers are now looking to extend their winning streak to 5 games against Illinois. Offensively, Minnesota is going to continue to run the ball with Bucko Irving and Ky Thomas behind the talented and RED HOT Offensive Line and they are going to have similar success as we have seen in the previous few games. Illinois' defense has a solid Defensive Line, but they will be without their top 2 Linebackers which isn't going to end well against a Gopher run game that has produced back to back 300+ yard performances. The passing game will continue to be used when needed and won't do anything crazy, likely saving that for the Iowa and Wisconsin matchups. Defensively, Minnesota has been one of the best in the nation. The main plan of attack for Illinois is to give the ball to RB Chase Brown. Brown is third in the Big Ten in rushing and has 2 200+ yard performances. The Gophers currently have the 8th best rushing defense in the nation, and with a swarming defense on all 3 levels, they shouldn't have any problem holding Brown in check. Illinois is also without their starting QB after he broke his arm a couple of weeks ago against Penn State.
Here's a look at the AWESOME uniforms the Gophers will be rockin' on Saturday:
Since the Gophers only have 2 RBs left on the roster, expect to see some new faces running the ball after Irving and Thomas give us a comfortable lead. The Gophers will control the time of possession like they always seem to do and win this game with ease, 34-10. The game will start on Saturday at 11:00am on ESPN2. Go Gophers, lets keep it rolling!
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