The Minnesota Golden Gophers began the season with a rocky offense, but with everything clicking at the moment, a ranked win is possible.
The Golden Gophers have won three games in a row against USC, UCLA, and Maryland with a 48-point performance against the Terrapins. Minnesota is currently one of the hotter teams in the Big Ten Conference while the hosting team, Illinois, has had an interesting past five games. The Golden Gophers secured a ranked win over USC, and are currently expected to win against the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign.
In the past five games, the Illinois Fighting Illini have won three games and lost two, with losses coming against Oregon and Penn State. Illinois has also had two overtime wins in this five game span, winning by one-point against a bad Purdue team and slipping past Nebraska away from home. Illinois is in need of a dominant win, but that does not appear to be what will occur against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
#illini still a three point underdog to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, winners of three straight and an offense that’s started to click
Brosmer isn’t dual threat, but Minnesota has sneaky weapons with Darius Taylor and Daniel Jackson
Brosmer hasn’t committed many turnovers…
— Carson Gourdie (@GourdieReport) October 30, 2024
The Golden Gophers offense is commanded by transfer quarterback Max Brosmer, who has finally had some success for the team. Brosmer is not a mobile quarterback by any means, but his strong arm allows for potentially big plays down the field. The quarterback has kept the running for Darius Taylor, who has also found recent success.
Can the Minnesota Golden Gophers Hold Onto the Projected Win Over Illinois?
While the Minnesota Golden Gophers are projected to defeat the Fighting Illini, that does not mean the team will necessarily do it without proper execution.
The Golden Gophers offense has been relying on a combination of Brosmer and Taylor lately to win games. It is going to be key for the Golden Gophers to utilize a balanced attack against a versatile Illinois defense. If Illinois keys into what the offense is doing they often can stop teams, which is why it is important to keep the Fighting Illini on their toes.
Another important key against the Fighting Illini for the Minnesota Golden Gophers is holding onto the football. Brosmer has done a good job this season at protecting the football, while the Illini have been great at forcing timely turnovers. Brosmer and Minnesota need to avoid losing their composure and falling into the traps the Fighting Illini defense will try to set up.
A third and final key for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the search of securing a win over Illinois is forcing Luke Altmyer to make mistakes. Altmyer has had his three worst games of the season while the Fighting Illini have limped to 2-1 in that stretch. If the Minnesota defense can get into the head of Altmyer early, it will be a long game for the Illinois offense.
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