Illinois’ (3-5, 1-4) bowl game hopes are on life support as the final stretch of the season begins following the bye week. On Saturday, the Illini travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota for a critical game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2), the same team they beat to earn bowl eligibility a season ago.
Things are much different now as the Illini struggle to gain ground in the conference play, with their sole Big Ten win being against the Maryland Terrapins. Illinois’ last timeout was a heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin on Homecoming, where they held a 21-10 lead before a game-changing call.
With about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, junior defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton blew through the offensive line and drilled the Wisconsin quarterback for a huge sack. However, a flag was thrown, and Newton was called for roughing the passer. After a review, a targeting call was added to the play, ejecting Newton from the game, which the Badgers took advantage of.
Wisconsin scored 18 unanswered points to win the game, and to make matters worse for Illinois, the targeting call means Newton will miss the first half against Minnesota. The loss is huge, as Newton had one of the best games by any Big Ten defender in the last four years. Newton was given a 95.1 grade by Pro Football Focus, the highest by any Big Ten defender since 2019 and the highest by any defensive player this season.
Head coach Bret Bielema and the Illini will certainly miss his presence, but there were bright spots: Freshman running back Kaden Feagin posted 97 yards on the ground to go with one touchdown in his second consecutive start.
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The Illini and Gophers are quite similar on the offensive side of the ball, as both teams rank near the bottom in total points scored. Illinois ranks No. 10 with 163 points and Minnesota comes in at No. 9 with 169.
Defensively, the Illini have given up 222 points thus far, 40 more than the Gophers. In terms of yardage, the Illinois defense has given up the most in the Big Ten, and without Newton for half of the game, defensive coordinator Aaron Henry will certainly need the team to step up if the Illini want to win against the Gophers.
History is not on the Illini’s side either, as they are just 12-23-2 in road games against the Gophers. However, Illinois has won the last two matchups between the programs. A win for the Gophers would solidify them as a bowl-eligible team, while a loss for the Illini would put their season in jeopardy.
The game is set for kick-off at 2:30 p.m., with the Gophers entering as slight favorites in the matchup. The game is set to be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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