Jameson Geers scored the go-ahead touchdown, Dragan Kesich kicked four field goals, Darius Taylor ran for 131 yards and a TD and the Gophers finally beat coach Bret Bielema for the first time in 11 meetings.

By Randy Johnson

The Minnesota Star Tribune

November 3, 2024 at 5:56AM

Gophers defensive lineman Danny Striggow tackles Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer for a loss during the first half Saturday in Champaign, Ill. (Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – Their quarterback, who’s been operating at 75% efficiency as of late, was at a pedestrian 56.3% late in the fourth quarter.

Their defense, which had kept opponents’ big plays to a minimum, gave up seven runs of 10 yards or longer and six completions of 15 yards or longer.

And their special teams, usually tasked to do no harm, took an unsuccessful risk that could have cost them the game.

Yet there the Gophers were Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, celebrating a 25-17 victory over No. 24 Illinois in front of 58,088. They were far from perfect throughout the day but made just enough plays at just the right time to run their winning streak to four games.

Darius Taylor rushed 22 times for 131 yards, including a 21-yard TD run, and caught nine passes for 58 yards for the Gophers. Max Brosmer completed 22 of 37 passes for 213 yards. His one touchdown pass — a 1-yarder to tight end Jameson Geers with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter — put Minnesota up for good. Dragan Kesich kicked four field goals, including a 46-yarder that set the final score.

The defense got into the act, too, by stopping Illinois on downs and on a strip sack on the Illini’s final two possessions.

“It’s a huge win for our program, another ranked victory in a really hostile environment, tough environment,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “They’re really hard to beat.’’

Brosmer said: “It was a gritty game. For us, it was just a matter of taking what we got the whole way through and sticking to it.”

By beating Illinois, the Gophers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) checked a few boxes that might have looked like a long shot to accomplish after their 2-3 start.

With the sixth win, they’ll be playing in a bowl for the sixth time in Fleck’s eight years in Dinkytown. Of course, with three games remaining — at Rutgers, vs. No. 3 Penn State and at Wisconsin — they hope to pad that record.
Fleck ended his three-game skid against Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema and Bielema’s 10-0 run against Minnesota that dated to 2006.
Coupled with their 24-17 victory over then-No. 11 Southern California on Oct. 5, the Gophers have beaten two teams ranked in the AP poll in a single season for the first time since 2019. They’ll almost certainly face a third ranked team when No. 3 Penn State visits Minneapolis on Nov. 23.

“This week was all about ‘So what?’ ” Fleck said. “They’ve got a great crowd; it’s going to be hostile. ‘So what?’ They’re ranked. They’re really good. ‘So what?’ ”

The victory, though, came with some tense moments against the Illini (6-3, 3-3), and none more than what happened early in the fourth quarter.

The Gophers were clinging to a 16-10 lead and facing fourth-and-12, and Fleck brought in senior punter Mark Crawford. Instead of punting, Crawford took off running but gained only 10 yards and fumbled the ball out of bounds at the Illinois 46-yard line when hit by Collin Dixon.

Five plays later, Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer, who went 20-for-33 for 226 yards, connected with Zakhari Franklin for a 21-yard TD pass with 9:03 to play.

Fleck explained that Crawford can decide to go for a fake if the punter believes the defense’s look is vulnerable.

“He has the green light to do that, and that’s my call, to put that green light on,” Fleck said. “I could easily have put a red light on but didn’t. … Obviously it didn’t work.”

Suddenly down by a point, the Gophers responded quickly with a 75-yard TD drive for a 22-17 lead. Key to that was Brosmer’s perfect deep ball to Daniel Jackson that gained 37 yards to the Illinois 38. From the 1 and in the “tush push” formation, Brosmer rolled to the right and found an uncovered Geers for the go-ahead points.

“That was one of those where P.J. says, ‘We’re gonna do what?’ I just wanted to make sure I heard it correctly,” Fleck said, recalling the conversation with his assistants over headphones.

After Geers’ TD, the Gophers were unsuccessful on a two-point conversion attempt. Their defense, however, made two big stops — one that led to Kesich’s fourth field goal and the other that sealed the win when Jah Joyner sacked Altmyer, forcing the QB to fumble, and Danny Striggow recovered at the Minnesota 27 with 29 seconds left.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, and typically you don’t see all that in one season,” said Striggow, a senior. “I’m honestly grateful for it ... to have so many things to learn from that are helping us right now.”