Gophers lead Big Ten in time of possession

The Gophers had the football for 40 minutes, 9 seconds during Saturday's 41-14 victory at Northwestern, a total that kept growing throughout the game as Minnesota's run game pounded away with 53 carries for 306 yards.

That came a week after the Gophers controlled the football for 37:35 against Maryland by rushing 56 times for 326 yards.

That clock-munching prowess has served Minnesota (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) well in a four-game win streak that has it sitting atop the Big Ten's West Division by one game over Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue. The Gophers lead the conference in time of possession and rank fifth nationally at 35:40, behind service academies Army, Air Force and Navy, plus Western Michigan.

With the offense holding the football so much — 70 plays to Northwestern's 53, and 69 to Maryland's 50 — the Gophers defense isn't seeing the field as much. It's a good situation to have, with opposing offenses having a heck of a time scoring from the sideline, though coach P.J. Fleck relayed a humorous anecdote about his team's defense.

"We had guys last week, two weeks ago, and they weren't complaining, but they were upset, they were sad. I said, 'Well, why are you sad? Why are you sad?' '' Fleck said. The players responded, ''We only played 40 snaps.''

"… I said, 'Well, then it's good for us to only have 40 because there are going to be times where we have to have 90,' '' Fleck continued. "But that's what I love about this team. They want to play.''

Strength vs. strength

Illinois, the Gophers opponent on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, is in the first year of a rebuilding job under new coach Bret Bielema, the former Wisconsin coach who's using a Badgers-like approach in Champaign.

"Bret wants to be able to run the football, he always has, always wanted to and he's going to do the same thing at Illinois,'' Fleck said. "They get in that barge formation with a lot of linemen, and they're going to run the football.''

On Oct. 23, the Fighting Illini (3-6, 2-4) rushed 67 times for 357 yards in a 20-18 nine-overtime win at Penn State. They're averaging 40.8 rushes, fourth most in the Big Ten, and gaining an average of 169.2 rushing yards, seventh in the conference.

"One of the biggest strengths on their offense is their offensive line,'' Fleck added. "They're really good, and they've got a lot of guys who have played a ton of football.''

The Gophers will counter that Illinois run game with a defense that's allowing 92.9 rushing yards per game, second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally.