Minnesota vs. Illinois football preview

Gophers & Illini both 1-1 heading into Big Ten matchup

The memories for Tim Brewster at Illinois are endless. He could rattle them off but arguably the one that stands out was being a captain of the 1983 team that went to the 1984 Rose Bowl.

Saturday, the Illini return home for their Big Ten home opener with Minnesota. And Brewster would love nothing better than to beat his alma mater.

The Gophers face another challenge in the Brewster era. Now, that they have achieved a first road win (at Bowling Green) and a first conference win (Indiana), they now have to come up with their first conference road win. But when you’re the homecoming opponent, everybody expects you to be easy pickings.

“Everybody understands the deal with the homecoming opponent,’’ Brewster said.

When Illinois and Minnesota have scheduled each other for homecoming, it’s been a disaster. In 1999, the Illini watched the Gophers embarrass them, 37-7. Last year, the Illini returned the favor in the Metrodome, 44-17.

In reality, Brewster has tried to emulate his program in the way Ron Zook has revived Illinois. Zook took the Illini to the Rose Bowl in his third year after winning one conference game the previous two years.

The Gophers are a little ahead of schedule. But the challenge is daunting. This is the third consecutive week they will face a spread offense led by a dynamic offense. Two weeks ago, they saw the emerging Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State. Last week, they shut down Indiana’s Kellen Lewis.

Now, they get Illinois’ Juice Williams who can single-handedly win a game. Well, he nearly did against Michigan last week when he accounted for 431 of Illinois’ 501 total offensive yards. He has accounted for 1,619 total yards from scrimmage this year.

“Last year, we saw how good Juice Williams is,’’ linebacker Steve Davis said. “When he runs the ball, it’s like taking a fullback down.’’

Minnesota got good news as defensive back Marcus Sherels, who left the Indiana game with a shoulder injury, is expected to play. The defensive coaching staff also continues to receive improved play from Lee Campbell who made the switch from defensive end to middle linebacker.

As much as the Gopher defense has improved, it is till prone to the big play. The unit has allowed seven touchdown plays of 25 or more yards. Conversely, the Gophers have forced 17 turnovers, tied for the most in the nation.

Williams has thrown six interceptions this season. It would serve Minnesota well to add to that total.

Maybe the courage the Gophers showed in the win over Indiana was the fact that both quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker suffered bell ringers in the fourth quarter but returned.

In fact, Decker had a career-high 13 receptions for 190 yards. He is quickly earning distinction as the Big Ten’s best receiver.

And Brewster is relying on freshman DeLeon Eskridge as his go-to back. Eskridge became a tougher runner as he had 11 carries in the fourth quarter of a drive that led the Gophers putting the game out of reach with a field goal.

It might be a case where the Gophers are going to have to control some of the clock to give them a chance. But against Williams, that might be asking too much.

Prediction: Illinois 40, Minnesota 25

Notable:

• Quarterback Adam Weber is the seventh signal caller in program history to surpass 4,000 passing yards. He has 4,323.
• Place-kicker Joel Monroe shared Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors for making three field goals and an extra point against Indiana.

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