Minnesota Football: RoWINg to Illinois

Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1) are coming off a bye week and are playing the No. 24-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (5-2) on the road.

Chase Brown is the star of Illinois' offense. Tommy DeVito is completing 68.9% of his passes and throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. Isaiah Williams leads the team with 38 receptions, but he's averaging 7.5 yards per catch. Pat Bryant hauls in 18 receptions for 313 receiving yards. Brian Hightower has 22 receptions. The three have combined for five touchdown catches through six games. Minnesota has been tough against the run this season. Illinois will need to clog traffic at the line of scrimmage and bottle up Brown. If DeVino and Williams are not healthy, the game will be won or lost in the trenches.

Illinois is playing well on the defensive side of the ball. The team has not allowed a touchdown at Memorial Stadium in four home games this season. Minnesota is the most formidable offense Illinois has faced up to this point. Illinois is tied for 12th in the country in sacks per game. Minnesota's offensive line will have their work cut out for them. They have to protect quarterback Tanner Morgan. Gophers' wide receivers will need to create separation against the Illini's secondary. It's possible that the Gopher's offense will be able to get moving laterally.

The Gophers are coming off a loss and have had two weeks to prepare for the game. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca has made the most of his bye weeks at Minnesota, averaging 30 points per game when coming back from a bye.