Illinois Football: Opening Thoughts of the Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Illinois football team fell to No. 3 Michigan this past week in what was an ugly first half.
After the Illini lost the first half 31-0, they came out in the second half and showed the fan base that they have heart.
Illinois only lost the second half 10-8 and actually played pretty well against a tough Michigan defense.
This week should be a little easier of a game. Illinois welcomes in the Minnesota Golden Gophers for their homecoming game.
The game kicks off at 11:00 AM CT and it should be a good matchup. Both teams aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire right now.
Minnesota comes into this game with a solid record, though. They are 5-2 but are coming off a narrow victory at home against a Rutgers team Illinois beat 24-7.
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In the game against Rutgers, the Golden Gophers brought back starting quarterback, Mitch Leidner, in the attempt to lead them to victory.
Leidner hasn’t been good this season. He continues to actually be one of the problems for this Minnesota team.
Just in the last game along, Leidner threw for 156 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. This type of production against a struggling Rutgers team is not good.
The Illinois defense needs to attack Minnesota at the quarterback position. The front-four have a chance to put pressure on Leidner all day long and this will inevitably cause turnovers.
Even though Minnesota is not good in the passing game, they are still pretty solid on the ground.
Rodney Smith leads the way for the Golden Gophers with 133 carries for 701 yards and 8 touchdowns. If he gets loose in the Illini defensive secondary then it could be a long day.
Smith also has a great backup in Shannon Brooks. He has 81 carries for 413 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.
These two form a nice one-two punch that should worry the Illini.
On the offensive side of the ball, Illinois might struggle with putting points on the board. Minnesota is only allowing an average of 22.9 points per game.
If the Illini want to succeed in moving the ball against this solid Minnesota defense, they will have to do it through the air.
The Golden Gophers average giving up 220.9 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. This ranks No. 58 in the nation.
I want to see Jeff George Jr. get the start again so we can see what he can do against a below average pass defense.
This game is winnable for the Illinois football team. If they can just execute on offense and play solid defense against the run, homecoming should be a win for the Illini.
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