No. 24 Illinois Looks to Regain Confidence, Host Minnesota

Oct 31, 20242 min read

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten Conference) visit the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2, 3-2) at noon EST on Nov. 2 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. No. 24 Illinois is coming off a 38-9 loss against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks (8-0, 5-0) last week that dropped the Fighting Illini four spots to No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. Minnesota comes off a 48-23 win over the Maryland Terrapins (4-4, 1-4) last week. Both the Golden Gophers and the Fighting Illini are looking to get back in the win column this coming Saturday so this should be a great matchup.

What's at Stake?

For Illinois, with a win, they would continue to stay in the Top 25. Illinois has been a surprising team this year in college football and shown lots of excitement for the Fighting Illini fans this season. Minnesota is riding a three-game win streak with wins over USC (4-4, 2-4), UCLA (2-5, 1-4) and Maryland. If the Golden Gophers can pull off a win this Saturday, expect them to potentially jump into the Top 25 rankings.

Key Players: Fighting Illini

Luke Altmyer, QB

Altmyer has thrown for 1,667 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. His QBR rating is 69.

Kaden Feagin, HB

Feagin has carried the ball 67 times for 306 rushing yards. He also has 3 touchdowns with an average carry of 4.6 rushing yards.

Pat Bryant, WR

Bryant has 34 receptions currently on the season with 510 receiving yards. He also has 7 touchdowns with an average reception of 15 yards per catch.

Key Players: Golden Gophers

Max Brosmer, QB

Brosmer has 1,776 passing yards on the season. He has thrown for 12 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He has a QBR of 64.9.

Darius Taylor, HB

Taylor has 104 carries for 513 rushing yards. He has scored 7 times this season with an average rush of 4.9 yards.

Daniel Jackson, WR

Jackson has 51 receptions for 568 receiving yards. He has 3 touchdowns on the season with an average reception of 11.1 yards.

Trends to Watch

Minnesota is looking to extend their win streak to four games. This is a big game for the Golden Gophers so they'll need to be ready to stop the high-powered No. 24 Illinois offense. Illinois needs to win this game to remain in the Top 25.