Minnesota - Illinois Game Blog

Well, here we go on a beautiful day in Minneapolis!

11:01: Gorgeous kickoff drops the ball just inside the pylon, no return for the Illini. Let's see which Illini team shows up. The one that beat Mich last week would march down the field on us; the one we've seen the rest of the year would go 3 and out or throw a pick...

11:03: Oh boy, Illinois RB Ford just pounded the ball off tackle for 18, running over 3 would be tacklers in the process...

11:15: And Illinois just finished off an 80 yard drive with a nifty pass to huge wr/te Cumberland. It appears Illinois's plan will be a steady dose of off-tackle runs, utilizing a decent o-line and stable of backs, with Juice mixing in some zone-reads and basic passes -- bubble screens, corner posts, etc. If we don't cover better than Triplett just did, it won't matter. It appears we're still hungover from our Halloween party of a game last week.

11:18: The Gopher series went like this: Weber sacked on 1st down, overthrows Da'Jon McKnight on 2nd, completes a short pass on 3rd down, short of 1st down. Flag on the play is on us for a hold. The commentator (Matt Rosen) notes the referee's name, and that we'll be seeing alot of the ref today. Boy, will we. Not sure if he meant because of us, or just in general...

By the way, former Gopher WR Ron Johnson is the color commentator, with sideline reporter Ron Johnson, no relation. Good times. Gopher Ron informs us he likes big receivers, since he was one. See, this is the type of insight you can only find on the BIG TEN NETWORK. That and Purdue women's soccer.

11:20: Cedric McKinley takes down Juice for a 3 yard loss on a beautiful read of the Illini's run-pass read.

11:22: Cedric part 2! McKinley sacks Juice on another impressive play. Maybe our D Line is up to the challenge today

11:26: Weber back to pass, again. Holds the ball for 4 seconds, again. Sacked, almost. Again.

11:26: MarQueis is in on 2nd down -- just as Bandana Guy called for. And he promptly fumbles on his running attempt. Ugh. This puts Illinois in great field position. Here's hoping our D can bail us out once again!

11:29: Just like that, McKinley (again!!!) pops the ball out of Juice's hands and Lee Campbell recovers!! McKinley also bent Juice over like a Russian gymnast on that fumble. Ouch.

11:32: Whaley and Eskridge just carried for our first 2 rushing attempts. About time. Establish the run! Based on the re-appearance of Bad Web (and Messy MarQueis) I like a steady dose of our stable of backs. Bennett just added a nice little 8 yard run. This is the type of offense we need to see.

11:35: HUGE mistake by Bad Web. Holds the ball forever, then tries to thrown from the left hash to the right hash, and Terry Hawthorne collects a pick 6. Simply a terrible read and throw from Weber. How many times this year have we see a combination of poor vision and even worse throws from a guy who should know better?!?!? 14-0 Illinois and we are officially in trouble. We need points on the next drive...

11:39: After Stoudamire muffs the kickoff, Jay Thomas takes approximately 15 seconds to return the ball to the 15... Don't we have a young guy with some wheels we can put back there with Stoudamire? Weber lofts a gorgeous deep ball to McKnight which draws a face guarding penalty on Illinois. Pet peeve: this call in college gets the offense 10 yards, that's it. The NFL has it correct -- the offense gets it at the spot of the foul.

11:41: And in a play that has epitomized the game so far, Weber rifles a deep ball that glances off Stoudamire's hands as 2 defenders run step for step with Troy. So close.

11:44: The 2nd quarter starts off with Weber in and Gray in as a 4th WR. Instant pressure up the middle causes Weber to duck it and hits Tow-Arnett for a great 3rd down conversion. 2 plays later, Weber overthrows McKnight deep again. I'm sensing a trend here. As I am here: Weber overthrows a wide open Brandon Green on yet another 3rd down. Thus far, Weber has been borderline horrible.

11:50 Not sure if this is planned or due to Juice's injury, but freshman QB Charest is in for Illinois, and leads the Illini to a punt after 3 plays, which included Nate Triplett burying Charest on a blitz up the middle. Welcome to the Big Ten rookie.

11:57: Rosen drops the first obligatory mention of Bennett's Immaculate Deflection. Next play Weber drills a 18 yard pass to Green. Coincidence?

11:58: McKnight just dropped a deep TD. Gotta catch that. In other news, Ricky Stanzi was just sacked and fumbled in his own endzone for a Northwestern TD, to bring them within 10-7 of the Squack-eyes. Plus Stanzi got hurt. Never cheer for an injury, but Iowa is due for some bad luck this year.

12:01: Speaking of bad luck, Weber somehow fumbles the ball trying to hand it off, leading to 3rd and 19. Ron Johnson just informed us O-Coordinator Jedd Fisch loves 3rd and long. Really??!

12:02: Shows what I know -- Weber hits Tow-Arnett for 20! McKnight then draws a stupid penalty on Illinois on a fade to the endzone, setting us up on the 5. Whaley scoots in for a TD on the next play. It seems our gameplan today involves throwing deep and praying for a flag.

12:07: BTN just showed us highlights of Coach Brew's days in Champaign making a nift catch down the seam and carrying would-be tacklers, then a clip of Coach (complete with a great 80's stache) winking at the camera. Wonder if his chili was hot then?

12:11: We 'force' Illinois to punt when Cumberland drops a nice throw from Illini QB Charest. Bad Illinois returning? I hope so. Oh, and we nearly muffed the punt.

12:12: Here we go.... We hold on 1st down (only our second penalty today), and then Weber ran straight back before circling like a bird with a busted leg to take a sack on our own one. Weber looks like the guy in flag football who is still buzzed from the previous night. Just not good. We are now punting from our own one. This is a recipe for disaster....

12:15: While Weber can't hit the broad side of barn today, his freshman counterpart Charest just hits Benn with a great pass down the seam. Tack on a helmet to helmet hit on Kim Royston, and Illinois is now 1st and goal at the 5. That was the correct call by the officials.

12:18: Is it Gray time yet? Illinois just went up 21-7 when true freshman Justin Green waltzed in untouched. Not much resistance from the D Line on that sequence. Brew has got to make a move. We can't afford another putrid drive from Bad Web. I know we've come from behind in all 5 of our wins, but we can't bank on that... Weber has to start hitting some quick passes and pick up some first downs to get this offense going.

12:20: Sure, why bring Gray in when you can have Webber roll to his right and throw it out of bounds over Green's head? The crowd is right to boo. Weber is 5/17 today -- 5/17!!!!

12:22: Good news: Weber didn't throw a pick or an incomplete. Bad news, Bad Web held the ball for 6 seconds and took a sack. Haudan then punts the ball 24 yards. We have to be real careful here or this game is going to go bye-bye real quickly.

12:23: Illinois shows some razzle-dazzle with RB Eddie McGee (and their 3rd QB) throwing into double coverage deep. A pick woulda been real nice there.

12:26: And the hits continue -- Royston hurts himself trying to separate Illinois WR Duvalt from the ball. Duvalt responds as only a stumblebum would -- taunting Royston to back the Illini up. That is the type of play we usually get flagged for, so I'm happy to see the other guys do it.

12:28: Royston and Sherels sort of make up for some of their earlier gaffes by knocking a nearly-completed ball away from Cumberland. We are having a tough time covering him.

12:30: Charest just converted 3rd and long when he strolled over the line of scrimmage before completing yet another corner out route. Refs missed that one... Illinois is just completing every big pass they need to. Case in point: Charest flips a 3 yard pass underneath to Ford, who not only get the first down inside the 5, but also nearly scores before Lee Campbell saves the TD. Illinois, however is on the 1.

12:33: Ford just barely gets in with the 2nd effort to make it 28-7.

12:37: 28-7 at the half. At least we get the ball to start the 2nd half. Brewster has to be embarrassed with the execution today. Weber has been atrocious, while Illinois has found it's groove with a freshman QB who looks like he hasn't said no to multiple trips to his dorm's buffet line all year.

We've been outgained 206-81, and Illinois has only held the ball for a minute longer, but you get the feeling the disparity would be much worse, but for the repeated short field Illinois has had to work with. We are going to need a special teams TD and/or a defensive score to even get back in this, as the offense has not shown the ability to start a drive, let alone sustain multiple scoring drives. We have 7 yards rushing versus the worst rushing D in the Big Ten. Staggering.

1:00: A completed pass to Hoese leads to 26 yards and a 1st down. All set up because Weber got the ball out on a 3 step drop. We need to see a LOT more of those quick hitters.

1:04: This drive is chewing up yards as we continue to mix up runs with Eskridge and Whaley, and when we throw Web is getting it out quickly. Hoese just keeps his legs churning and converts a short 3rd down from the 5 and ends up inches short of a TD. Ron Johnson just informed us Brew loves to pound the rock. Here's where we need some beef in the backfield -- a big bruiser who can smell the endzone and get in there...

1:06: Weber just took a sack at the 10 on a play-action where Weber has GOT to get rid of it. 3rd and goal from the 9, and we throw a weak fade to Green. Knocked away of course, so we settle for 3. That's just attitude there. We tried one run from the 1, came back with a play-action, and failed horribly. Down 28-7, at home, to a team that has been terrible versus the run, you HAVE to establish the line of scrimmage. If Brewster truly wants to establish a physical team, these are the downs you do it on! 12 plays for 73 yards yields 3 points. Not acceptable.

1:13: How does Charest squeeze his head into that helmet?

1:14: Charest just flips it out to Cumberland who we have decided we don't need to cover. BTW, is there anything more frustrating than seeing Theret diving on a pile late and/or clapping EVERY time he gets burned?

1:15: Eric Small just nails Charest causing a duck to wobble up... and right throw Traye Simmons hands. Pathetic. Jack Ramsey then converts the subsequent throw for a first down. Of course.

1:17: Just heard Simoni Lawrence's name called from the first time today. Could really use a big play from any of our linebackers.

1:19: Kim Royston just saw an int glance off his hands. I'm beginning to see why he didn't see the field during his freshman season at Wisconsin. He's a smaller safety who wants to head hunt and can't catch. Great combination...

1:20: Illinois has 3rd and 11 from the 29, and Royston literally climbs all over Cumberland to deflect the ball. Somehow Royston didn't get flagged. I'll take it. Turns out to be a big play when Illinois pushes their FG attempt wide. Wouldn't a TD here be nice?

Simply based on the eyeball test, we are losing the line of scrimmage battles on both sides of the ball. We gotta start winning or at least neutralizing that Illinois offensive line to get back into this game.

1:24: With MarQueis Gray in the shotgun, and Weber lined up wide left, Gray and Weber were both flailing their arms to get someone to motion. We take a timeout just before the ball is snapped. Gray is out of the game following the TO. Just a strange sequence, although our offense is strange to watch. Some drives we seems dedicated to establishing the run, other times we look like we just got taught a zone-read offense last week. None of it works when Weber short hops an open receiver 10 yards from him like he just did to Bennett.

1:28: Weber is now 9/23 after drilling McKnight with a 15 yard strike, and tack on 15 more when Illinois LB Williams hits McKnight helmet to helmet. Clock down to 1:30 left in the 3rd. We need a TD on this drive.

1:30: In addition to his 14 incompletions, Weber has accounted for -40 yards rushing. Excellent.

1:31: 3rd quarter ends with a jail-break sack of Weber, meaning we'll be facing 2nd and long from the Illinois 30 yard line. Oh, and Ron Johnson informed us that Jedd Fisch opined sacks and penalties are drive killers. Well, yes, typically negative yardage is a bad idea if you want to continue a drive. Remember, it's the BIG TEN NETWORK -- you can't find this insight anywhere else!

1:35: Illinois DL Clay Nurse just sacked Weber, again. Back to back sacks brings up 3rd and 24. Horrible offensive line play. I guess Fisch DOES love 3rd and long, as Weber hits his new fav receiver Tow-Arnett for 25. Really wish he could hit someone besides our FB for big passing plays....

1:36: Ignore that -- continue to hit big slow white FB types -- Hoese takes a Weber toss in for seven and we're within 11!

1:38: Illinois has 6 sacks today, after having all of 11 coming in.

1:40: We continue to have problems with big, strong backs. Jason Ford is making hay running inside on us, as he just did in leveling Simoni...

1:42: Okay, we get the ball back on our our 30, down 11, with 12 minutes left in the quarter... I sure hope we show some urgency on this drive! Although I'm not sure Web can run a hurry up since he hasn't been able to run ANY offense virtually all day...

1:46: Well now, things are getting interesting. Weber hits Bryant Allen for 15, Gray just misses Green on a deep flip (what an arm), and Weber hits Brandon Green twice to put us inside the 20. Two hard runs brings up 3rd and short from the 10. We need to convert this -- 3 points won't get is done... As I was typing that, Hoese stumbled short of the marker... Going for it on 4th down, and Hoese comes up huge again by pumping his legs and just wanting it! 1st and goal from the 3!

1:50: That's the attitude!!! Hoese pounds it in while big Jeff Willis loses his helmet pushing that pile forward! Weber then throws a nice fade to McKnight who makes a really difficult catch looking back into the sun! This team just refuses to go away, I am really impressed with their character. Past Gopher teams would have folded up, but this team, particularly at home, really, really just does not quit. And they're doing it with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores contributing. That's great to build on for the future of the program!

1:54: Well apparently Ellestad doesn't want a comeback. He managed to boot the ball out of bounds at Illinois' 35. Yuck.

1:55: Two short runs brings up a huge 3rd and 4! We're blitzing...and Charest hits McGee for a huge gain to the 12 when Traye Simmons whiffs on his tackle. Traye talks a good game, but has been terrible today.

1:57: Jason Ford just went off tackle again and picked up a 1st down inside the 1. That guy is killing us inside today.

1:59: You will not see a better D-Tackle play than the one Jewhan Edwards just made -- he pushed the guard and center back into the back for a 4 yard loss! Wow, what a play for the sophomore! Sherels then promptly refuses to look for the ball when Benn caught a fade over him, despite Sherels trying to climb into his arms like a little child asking to be picked up. Horrible D by yet another one of our defensive backs who thinks he's better than he is.

Weber is going to be under pressure now -- Illinois will have it's ears pinned back, and gunning for him. I hope he doesn't throw another pick. That pick-6 is the difference in the game right now. This putrid game is on him; he's been horrible until lately. Let's see what he can do...

2:02: Adam Weber is who we thought he was! And he doesn't let us off the hook! He throws incomplete on 1st down, and gets sacked again on 2nd. On 3rd an long, he unleashes a deep throw that Stoudamire misses... again. He probably should have caught that -- it literally went through his hands. Tough to do when he was turned around, but Weber put it where only Stoudamire could catch it. We're going to punt with 4 minutes to go. This baby is all but over unless we get another TCF miracle...

We lost this game in the first half when Weber was unbelievably putrid, looking as lost as he did as a freshman, if not more so. Additionally, Illinois did a nice job controlling both lines to the point that their freshmen QB had plenty of time to direct their offense. That stupid pick weber threw and the pick that Simmons missed really is the difference today.

2:09: NEVER SAY NEVER!!!! Freshmen LB Keanon Cooper blocks Illinois punt and Ben Kunzia scoops up the ball for a TD!! There's that D/ST TD we needed! We are down 3, but we have no timeouts left... Wow, what a play by Cooper! Another young guy making a play! Here comes the on-side....

2:11: We got a nice bounce, but couldn't come up with it, and the ball trickled out of bounds. And Simoni was hurt on the play. Crap. Just hold them here guys...

2:13: Back to back runs by Jason Ford give Illinois a fresh set of downs with 2 minutes to go. That should ice it. He's been the key to that offense today -- getting the big 1st down and goal line runs. We simply couldn't tackle him with the first or second defenders.

What a frustrating loss. I will say it bodes well for the future that our young guys (Green, McKnight, Cooper) made plays to get us back in it after our veterans, primarily Weber, dug the hole so deeply so quickly. There should be no reason from this point forward that we don't see a ton of Gray under center. We have to use his legs and athleticism as we simply have to find a way to run the ball, which is scary, since we can't really pass block either. Not a great combination to get the offense going...

Well, in some good news, Iowa lost, so their run of crappy wins is over.