Minnesota 27, Illinois 20

October 11, 2008 - Memorial Stadium - Champaign, IL

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NCAAF   FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH     TOTAL
                            ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
        MINNESOTA             7    0    7   13      27
        ILLINOIS              0    3    3   14      20   FINAL


        SCORING SUMMARY


        1ST QTR: MINN - TD, ERIC DECKER 25 YD PASS FROM ADAM WEBER (JOEL
                            MONROE KICK), 11:54
        2ND QTR: ILL  - FG, MATT ELLER 33 YD, 3:00
        3RD QTR: MINN - TD, DELEON ESKRIDGE 1 YD RUN (JOEL MONROE KICK), 13:19
                 ILL  - FG, MATT ELLER 28 YD, 9:09
        4TH QTR: MINN - TD, DELEON ESKRIDGE 46 YD RUN (KICK FAILED), 11:11
                 ILL  - TD, A.J. JENKINS 54 YD PASS FROM JUICE WILLIAMS
                            (MATT ELLER KICK), 10:01
                 MINN - TD, SIMONI LAWRENCE 9 YD FUMBLE RETURN (JOEL MONROE
                            KICK), 5:24
                 ILL  - TD, A.J. JENKINS 35 YD PASS FROM JUICE WILLIAMS
                            (MATT ELLER KICK), 4:47
                                                                        


Extended Box


NCAAF                 1  2  3  4   F 
                      -  -  -  -  -- 
Minnesota             7  0  7 13  27 
Illinois              0  3  3 14  20  FINAL 


 Minnesota-Decker 25 pass from Weber (Monroe kick)
 Illinois-FG Eller 33
 Minnesota-Eskridge 1 run (Monroe kick)
 Illinois-FG Eller 28
 Minnesota-Eskridge 46 run (kick failed)
 Illinois-Jenkins 54 pass from J Williams (Eller kick)
 Minnesota-Lawrence 9 fumble return (Monroe kick)
 Illinois-Jenkins 35 pass from J Williams (Eller kick)


                      Minnesota    Illinois 
First downs                  16          25 
Rushed-yards             34-116       33-88 
Passing yards               196         462 
Sacked-yards lost          5-32        3-18 
Return yards                  0          16 
Passes                  19-27-0     26-42-1 
Punts                    7-42.4      3-40.3 
Fumbles-lost                1-1         2-2 
Penalties-yards            6-59        5-46 
Time of possession        29:32       30:28 


Individual Statistics 
RUSHING: Minnesota-Eskridge 26-125, Stoudermire 1-1, Weber 6-10.
Illinois-J Williams 18-71, Dufrene 10-40, Leshoure 3-6, Ford 2-5.


PASSING: Minnesota-Weber 18-26-0-184, Kucek 1-1-0-12.
Illinois-J Williams 26-41-1-462, Team 0-1-0-0.


RECEIVING: Minnesota-Decker 9-86, Simmons 4-33, Kuznia 2-29,
Spry 1-21, Mannion 1-12, N Tow-Arnett 1-10, Eskridge 1-5. Illinois-
Benn 12-181, Jenkins 3-117, Judson 3-73, Hoomanawanui 2-33,
Duvalt 2-27, Cumberland 2-24, Dufrene 1-7, Sykes 1-0.


Att: 62,870
                                                                        




Game Story


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP)—Minnesota hassled Juice Williams all day, sacking
him five time and taking his fumble back for a decisive touchdown in the
Golden Gophers’ 27-20 upset Saturday.

After Minnesota’s Willie VanDeSteeg brought down Williams at the Fighting
Illini 9 late in the fourth quarter, Simoni Lawrence scooped up the ball
and ran it in for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead for the Golden Gophers
(6-1, 2-1 Big Ten).

Just a week after he put up 431 combined yards in a win over Michigan,
Williams was 26-of-41 passing for 462 yards and two touchdowns. Illinois
(3-3, 1-2) turned the ball over three times.

"Why not us? Why not now?" Minnesota coach Tim Brewster asked after his
first Big Ten road win, which avenged last season's 44-17 home loss to his
alma mater. "The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a program-changing victory
today on the road against a very good football team in an extremely
hostile environment. I couldn't be more proud of this football team the
way we gutted this thing out."

One second-quarter drive summed up the afternoon for Illinois.

With Minnesota up 7-0, Williams ran out of heavy pressure for a big first
down to keep a drive alive.

But a few plays later, Williams was chased out of the pocket as wide
receiver Jeff Cumberland ran open across the end zone, waving his arms to
get his quarterback’s attention.

Then an 8-yard sack forced the Illini to kick a field goal.

VanDeSteeg was Williams’ biggest headache Saturday. The senior defensive end
had three of the Gophers’ sacks and five tackles.

DeLeon Eskridge rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota.
His second touchdown, a 46-yarder early in the fourth quarter, gave the
Gophers a 20-6 lead and forced the Illini to play from behind, neutralizing
their running game.

Illinois entered the game averaging 210.8 yards on the ground, but Minnesota
held the Illini to just 88.

Adam Weber completed 18 of 26 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown.

He found receiver Eric Decker, who entered the game with a Big Ten-best 50
catches, five times in the first quarter. They included a 25-yard touchdown
scored when Decker lunged to tuck the ball just inside the pylon on the
game’s opening drive.

Decker finished with nine catches for 86 yards.

Illinois sophomore receiver Arrelious Benn caught 12 balls for 181 yards,
his career high for yardage and third-straight 100-yard game.

Illini freshman A.J. Jenkins caught three passes for 117 yards, two of
them long, late touchdowns that kept the Illini in the game.