It’s hard to get excited for Illinois football games at this point. It’s especially hard to get excited for an Illinois football game when it’s Homecoming and there are so many better options for an Illini sports fan.

The No. 10-ranked Illini volleyball team plays at home this weekend, as do the soccer team, hockey team and both men’s and women’s cross-country teams. I’ll admit, cross-country isn’t all that thrilling to watch, but it’s got to be better than watching the Illini defense try to stop an opponent.

So, which team gets to run all over the Illini this weekend? The 6-1 Minnesota Golden Gophers. Did you ever think you’d hear that? Minnesota is 6-1.

Head coach Jerry Kill has worked wonders with that football program.

Three years ago, the Gophers topped the Illini in an ugly game the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was just Minnesota’s third win of the year and it was the last game Ron Zook would ever coach at Illinois.

Illinois could learn a few things from its Big Ten counterpart from up north. It might be too late for Tim Beckman, but whoever coaches this team in 2015 can look at what Kill has done in Minnesota as a blueprint.

The two programs are pretty similar historically. Illinois has 17 bowl appearances to Minnesota’s 16. The Illini have played in five Rose Bowls to the Gophers’ two. Illinois has 15 conference titles to Minnesota’s 18.

No, Minnesota hasn’t played Nebraska and Wisconsin yet. But wouldn’t Illinois football fans do just about anything for a six-win season at this point?

In Kill’s four years at Minnesota, the Gophers recruiting classes have ranked 55th, 59th, 66th and 57th nationally, according to 247sports.com. Those numbers are unimpressive, yet the Gophers won eight games a year ago and could win more this year.

In Beckman’s three years, his recruiting classes have ranked 64th, 49th and 72nd by 247sports. Not much different, really. I know rankings are just numbers, but the point is, positive things can be done with the talent level Illinois is capable of recruiting.

Minnesota is doing it. I’m not going to pretend to know Jerry Kill’s methods. But his teams find ways to win with a similar talent level as Illinois. The Gophers will be bowling for the third straight year. Illinois, in all likelihood, is going to be watching from the sidelines for a third straight year.

Illinois needs a winner’s mentality, something that’s much too late for Beckman to establish. That’s the biggest difference between the programs: Minnesota believes it can win every game. 

That being said, it’s important to remember that this is a winnable game for the Illini. When you throw out the records and just look at the teams, they are pretty comparable. With Wes Lunt, Illinois could win this game. Without him — well, nobody really knows.

Illinois looked pretty good when Aaron Bailey came in against Wisconsin two weeks ago. But with such a small sample size, it’s impossible to know what the Illini are capable of with Bailey under center.

So if you’re an Illinois football fan, try to get excited for this game. Minnesota is 6-1, but it’s far from an intimidating 6-1. The Gophers really aren’t that different from the Illini.

Sean is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @sean_hammond.