For the third straight game, the Illinois football team scored before its opponent but was unable to maintain a lead. Despite compiling 276 yards of offense, the Illini couldn’t reach the end zone in a 17-3 loss to Minnesota in front of 46,912 on Dad’s Weekend at Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Golden Gophers handed the Illini their seventh consecutive loss and 12th consecutive conference loss, while Minnesota is bowl eligible for the first time since 2009.

Illinois (2-8, 0-6) scored first after stopping Minnesota (6-4, 2-4 Big Ten) on its first possession. Following a 49-yard flea flicker from quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to wide receiver Spencer Harris on Illinois’ second play from scrimmage, the Orange and Blue cracked the scoreboard on a 20-yard field goal from Nick Immekus.

The field goal would remain the only score until late in the second quarter. With the Golden Gophers threatening on the Illinois 5-yard line, the Illini defense came up with three stops, forcing a 20-yard field goal from Minnesota kicker Jordan Wettstein.

Both offenses got off to slow starts in the second half. After two Illinois punts and a punt of its own, Minnesota drove 51 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run from running back Donnell Kirkwood. Minnesota would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game. Kirkwood finished the game with 152 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns.

“You look at early in that football game, we had the opportunity to take big strikes, to take those big hits and wide open receivers in the middle of the field,” Illinois head coach Tim Beckman said. “We overthrew them and we don’t get the points out of that. Things like that you have to make if you’re going to be successful. When you score three points that’s just not going to win at any level.”

Illinois had two chances to tie the game in the fourth quarter while trailing 10-3. With just more than five minutes remaining, the Illini turned the ball over on downs at the Minnesota 35-yard line. The Illini forced the Golden Gophers to punt, giving them one final chance with less than four minutes on the clock. On a third-and-1 play still 70 yards from the end zone, Scheelhaase fumbled on a quarterback sneak while reaching the ball for the first down. Minnesota capitalized on the turnover with Kirkwood scoring his second touchdown.

“Coach Beatty tells me all the time don’t reach the ball out in those situations,” Scheelhaase said. “I think it comes down to just me trying to do too much, not doing my job. I guess that’s the instinct that comes out when you get stopped on a third-and-1. You want to do what you can to get the first down. It’s 100 percent my fault.”

Scheelhaase finished the game 15-for-23 with 175 passing yards and 24 yards on the ground. Minnesota ran the ball 50 times, attempting just 15 passes. With Illinois linebacker Jonathan Brown out with an injury, Mason Monheim picked up the slack, recording a career-high 15 tackles.

“I want guys to run the ball,” Monheim said. “I’m a hard-nosed guy. Our defense is hard-nosed and we take that as a challenge. We take it personal.”

Both teams punted six times each during the game. Illinois turned the ball over on an additional three possessions, twice by way of fumble and another through a turnover on downs. With Purdue’s win over Iowa on Saturday, Illinois is now the only team in the Big Ten without a conference victory with two games remaining on the schedule.

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.