Minnesota vs Illinois Prediction: Gophers finally get past Bret Bielema

It’s another Minnesota Golden Gophers gameday and with that, it’s time to make another game day prediction here at Gophers Nation.

On Saturday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will look for their fourth-straight win as they take on the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini on the road in Champlain. The Gophers in the process will look to also snap a 10-game losing streak against Illinois head coach Bret Bielema in the process.

A win on Saturday would give the Gophers their sixth win of the season as well, officially clinching bowl eligibility.

With that being said, who do we have winning on Saturday? Let’s get into it.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been playing strong football for the last five weeks, dating back to their second half performance against the Michigan Wolves in Ann Arbor. After nearly upsetting the Wolverines, the Gophers have won each of their last four games with wins over USC, UCLA, and Maryland, the latter win coming in impressive fashion by a final score of 48-23.

In the process of their four-game winning streak, the Gophers offense has played with a bit more of a spark led by quarterback Max Brosmer while the defense has played some of its best football, allowing just 19 points per game over the winning streak.

Illinois enters Saturday with a 6-2 record and No. 24 in the country after losing last week to No. 1 Oregon 38-9. The Illini’s only losses this season have come to the top-ranked Ducks and No. 3 Penn State. In their six wins this season, the Illini have relied heavily on their defense. In five of six wins, the opposing offense was kept to 350 total yards or less. That being said, the Illini are susceptible defensively.

The Illini defense this season has allowed nearly 400 yards per contest and rank 72nd in the nation in that category. But they’ve done a good job of limiting the overall scoring of opposing offenses, allowing just 23.6 points per contest. The Illini are suspect against opposing ground games, allowing 171 rushing yards per game this season and 4.8 yards per rush. Of course, Minnesota hasn’t been strong in the rushing category this season themselves, averaging just 106.7 rushing yards a game and averaging 3.5 yards per rush. But as we have previously stated this week, the magic number for Minnesota this season is 100 rushing yards. The Gophers are 4-0 when rushing for over 100 yards and are 1-3 when kept under the century mark.

Will they be able to get enough push up front on Saturday? That remains to be seen, however, if they do so, it will be without left guard Tyler Cooper who according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel will be on Saturday with an injury. Redshirt sophomore Tony Nelson is expected to step in to replace Cooper.

The Illini pass defense has been solid this season but can be They have allowed 290+ passing yards three times this season, doing so against Purdue, Nebraska, and Oregon. The Gophers have been solid through the air in recent weeks including Max Brosmer coming off his best game of the season with 320 passing yards last week in the win over Maryland. Expect the Gophers to one again rely on the likes of Brosmer as well as wide receivers Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer on Saturday afternoon.

Looking at the Illinois offense and the Gophers defense. The Illini will likely find ways to move the ball but it’s not a great matchup for Illinois, the Gophers have the advantage in most aspects of the matchup.

That being said, this is a smart Illinois offense and one that won’t make too many mistakes. That being said, few defenses in the country have created more chaos in terms of turnovers than the Gophers.

Look for them to get another big turnover or two on Saturday against Luke Altmyer and the Illini offense. Notably, Altmyer has been one of the best players this season in terms of interception percentage with just 1.55% of his passes this season being picked off. Notably, Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant is a game time decision on Saturday.

Special teams will be a concern in this game, the Gophers haven’t been all too strong in that facet of the game this season while Illinois is one of the better special teams, teams in the country this season. In what will be a close game, special teams could be the ultimate difference between a win and a loss for Minnesota.

So with all that, who is Gophers Nation picking for today’s game?

PREDICTION: Minnesota 23 – Illinois 16

We’re going to go with Minnesota to pick up their fourth straight win of the season, the Gophers are playing their best football at the right time while Illinois could still be feeling last week’s loss to Oregon. This Illinois team is a good one but it’s not a great one and not as good as their 6-2 record may indicate. The Gophers will still need to bring their A-game on Saturday to win but as long as they do so, we anticipate a Minnesota victory. We believe the difference once again will be quarterback Max Brosmer, after throwing a combined three interceptions against iowa and Michigan earlier this season, the transfer quarterback has been tremendous. Look for him to make up for those performances this weekend.