All season long, the Gophers have relied on their running attack to control a game's tempo, build early leads and force opponents to try to rally. It's an approach that, entering Saturday, helped the 20th-ranked Gophers sit alone atop the Big Ten West Division standings.
Illinois shuts down Gophers in 14-6 upset win
Minnesota rushed for only 89 yards and saw its Big Ten West Division title hopes take a big hit.
November 7, 2021 at 5:33AM
When an opponent, however, can turn that strategy around and attack Minnesota with it, you have what transpired Saturday.
Illinois out-Gophered the Gophers on its way to a 14-6 upset victory.
The Fighting Illini (4-6, 3-5 Big Ten) scored two first-half touchdowns, held Minnesota's run game to 89 yards and sacked quarterback Tanner Morgan six times and intercepted him twice in front of an announced 46,382 at Huntington Bank Stadium.
"They did kind of exactly what we do to teams," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "They had two takeaways, and we didn't have any. … We couldn't get enough traction — offense, defense, special teams."
With the Gophers trailing since the first quarter and forced to pass, Morgan completed 15 of 28 passes for 180 yards in a loss that ended Minnesota's four-game winning streak and damaged the Gophers' West Division title hopes.
The Gophers (6-3, 4-2) still control their destiny for the division crown — if they beat Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin, they will be West champs. Saturday's result leaves them in a four-way for first among Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue at 4-2. The loss, though, certainly created external doubt.
"We just have to execute, whether it's pass or run," said Morgan, whose 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal cut the lead to 14-6 with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter. But on a day that Minnesota's mistakes kept piling up, Matthew Trickett clanked the extra-point attempt off an upright. Kerby Joseph's interception of a Morgan pass with 38 seconds left sealed Illinois' victory.
Fleck backed Morgan after the game, saying "absolutely, that's without question'' the senior is his quarterback.
Chase Brown rushed 33 times for 150 yards and Brandon Peters completed seven of nine passes for 80 yards and a score for the Illini. With 185 yards on the ground, Illinois nearly doubled the total the Gophers defense was giving up (92.9) entering the game.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's own rushing game, which had produced back-to-back games of more than 300 yards, sputtered to a 2.5-yard average on its 35 carries. Redshirt freshman Ky Thomas led the Gophers with 60 yards on 16 carries.
The Gophers continually got behind the chains, averaging 10.4 yards to go on their second-down plays in the first half and 8.2 for the game.
"Way too many," Fleck said of the second-and-longs. "They key to the game was that Illinois was in a lot of second-and-4s, second-and-3s, and they'd be in a third-and-1. We were the opposite. All of a sudden, we're in a third-and-12."
Illinois scored its first TD on Isaiah Williams' 2-yard run that followed Tarique Barnes' interception of a Morgan pass tipped by Seth Coleman. The Illini's second TD came on the first play of the second quarter when Peters hit wide-open tight end Tip Reiman for a 15-yard score.
Three times the Gophers drove inside the Illinois 30-yard line and came up empty. In the second quarter, they reached the 22 before wildcat QB Cole Kramer was stuffed for no gain by Isaiah Gay on fourth-and-1. Late in the quarter, they reached the 19 before a holding penalty on tackle Sam Schlueter backed them up to the 30, and Morgan didn't see an open Daniel Jackson on second down and threw incomplete. Trickett attempted a 45-yard field goal but was wide right with 3 seconds left in the half.
In the third quarter, the Gophers drove to the Illinois 26 before tackle Daniel Faalele's holding penalty moved them back. Owen Carney Jr.'s sack of Morgan on fourth-and-7 from the 22 ended that threat.
"We'd move the ball, move the ball, then have a stall, whether it was hold or a penalty," Fleck said. "It's tough sledding when you're playing a team like that."
Though Morgan completed seven of eight passes for 68 yards — including four for 47 to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford — on the lone TD drive, the missed opportunities earlier by the Gophers offense proved too much to overcome.
Afterward, Fleck pointed to the goal that remains up for grabs if his team can quickly rebound.
"It's the middle of November, and we're in the hunt for the Big Ten West championship," he said. "… Three weeks left and we're in the hunt. We've got to find a way to play better than we did today, and I promise you we will."
Sam Rinzel had two of the Gophers’ three power play goals against the Irish.
