Not where they wanted to be at the beginning of the season but not bad. Time to party!

needs its own thread. Armstrong on fire so far

Pregame reads:

• Behind Enemy Lines: Illinois
• Facts & Figures: Minnesota vs. Illinois
• Claeys and Sawvel: Preview Illinois, talk 2016 recruiting class, WR group, reflect on Kill's absence
• Miller previews Illinois DL, talks Knockdown Cup
• Ekpe talks Illinois, improvement, Jerry Gibson, and more
• Weyler talks Illinois DL, takes pride in position flexibility
• Leidner talks Illinois, Brandon Lingen, and more
• Claeys talks Rutgers and Illinois

• Associated Press: Minnesota looks to erase memory of 2014 loss
• Orange & Blue News: Behind Enemy Lines: Minnesota

Richardson is back from his concussion.

Jeff George Jr. is likely to start but Wes Lunt was throwing passes in warmups. George was taking most of the snaps with the first team, per Andy Greder.

Illinois starts six freshman on defense, including Jamal Milan (a former Gophers target the Gophers almost landed).

N'Western just scored right in front of their band to tie it up in Columbus. Thats right folks, Wildcats band in the Shoe!

I don't know why it took so long, but we eventually made 2 huge changes that were perfect.

1). Our DB's were giving up the WR screens and quick passes as we were lined up 8-10 yards off the line of scrimmage. We changed that in the 2nd half as they don't have anyone that can get separation in our DB's.

2). We started bringing our OLB's on out to in stunts and interior line gap blitzes. The pocket started collapsing and combined with our press coverage on the receivers, George had no time and nowhere to go with the ball.

Our Inside LB's need help in run defense as do our ends in giving up contain, but it was good to see a change made by the staff in the 3rd quarter that essentially eliminated their passing offense.

Seriously, this place has been a ghost town lately.

I for one am JACKED about tomorrow---a chance for our Gophers to get back on the right track and build some momentum en route to a November run at the west division title and shot for all the marbles in Indy!

#GoldenGophers
#SkiUMah
#StomptheIllini
#TomrrowisourOrangeCrush
#theiruniformsarehideous
#avengetheflugame

I didn't get a chance to watch or hear the game, but were there any injuries to report today? Great win by Gophers on enemy turf.

They are reporting from the game site.

"
60 minutes until kickoff

Looks like Jeff George Jr. will get his second straight start today, while Wes Lunt will miss his third consecutive game with a back injury and Chayce Crouch is out for the second straight week with a shoulder injury.

If I'm Garrick McGee, the Illinois offensive coordinator, I try to simplify the gameplan for George. Thought Illinois attempted too many deep passes early against Michigan and while the wildcat look Illinois used with Ke'Shawn Vaughn did churn out a 45-yard run, it was mostly ineffective against the Wolverines.

Playing a third-string quarterback, the key is to shorten the game, take advantage of every offensive possession and establish the run game.

Illinois will likely be able to run the ball against the Gophers, with Kendrick Foster leading the way. At least it should. Foster had a solid game two weeks ago at Rutgers and while he finished with 45 rushing yards on eight carries last Saturday, the run game was mostly a no-show against the Wolverines.

Now that it seems the quarteback position is settled, you might see Connor Brennan start for the second straight game at guard in place of Gabe Megginson.

Megginson is considered a solid component of future Illinois offensive lines and has started five games this season, but was benched last Saturday in Ann Arbor.

"We don't base everything on one practice or one game, but we've played enough games now for us to see exactly who our players are," Lovie Smith said. "If a guy doesn't start the other day, we felt like we had a better option. Connor played pretty good in (Megginson's) spot last week. It's not just Gabe. It's every player. That's what we're going off of."

McGee said Megginson, a redshirt freshman and the most highly-coveted recruit in the 2015 class when the Jacksonville native signed with the Illini, has the talent. The consistency, though, is one element he wants to see cleaned up."

http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/football/2016-10-29/live-minnesota.html

This one is real easy. I've told you nitwits. It's hard out hea. Stop being confused.

This deal is so unfair. How you see this deal has a lot to do with how you see America and the lens you see it through.

I'm ready to be attacked....I'm on one my knee (kaepernick style)
Most of y'all punch like girls so it won't hurt anyway.

I fully admit to thinking it will be tough to win 6 games to become bowl eligible this year. I know that is terrible, but last week was the most depressing "win" I have seen in awhile. Even worse than the close Kent St win.

I think we go down early and never catch up. Mitch gets yards but most are in the 4th quarter trying to come back. Conservative 3rd down calls kill our drives.

Halftime:
Illini 17
Gophers 6

Final:
Illini 27
Gophers 16

What say y'all ?

Michigan band at Michigan State today.
Heads are coming off!!!
Wren says it's AWESOME!!

Completely astonished week after week. Totally not engaged

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=23358

I think the Gophers are flat out better than the Illini. If Minnesota plays well this should be a 2+ score victory.

#GoldenGophers
#ThisisourOrangeCrush
#Gopherinvasion
#SkiUMah

• Behind Enemy Lines: Illinois
• Facts & Figures: Minnesota vs. Illinois
• Claeys and Sawvel: Preview Illinois, talk 2016 recruiting class, WR group, reflect on Kill's absence
• Miller previews Illinois DL, talks Knockdown Cup
• Ekpe talks Illinois, improvement, Jerry Gibson, and more
• Weyler talks Illinois DL, takes pride in position flexibility
• Leidner talks Illinois, Brandon Lingen, and more
• Claeys talks Rutgers and Illinois

More from other outlets:

• Associated Press: Minnesota looks to erase memory of 2014 loss
• Orange & Blue News: Behind Enemy Lines: Minnesota

Link: Bart Miller previews Illinois DL, talks Knockdown cup

Link: Claeys and Sawvel: Preview Illinois, talk 2016 recruiting class

BTN this morning quoted Fitzgerald as saying his team wasn't tough, and nobody on his staff was working to make them tough, so he took on the job himself. Don't know why he waited so long (although Minnesota appears to be waiting also), but the BTN announcers say NW is playing tough now and that's the difference in their resurgence.

I know there's disagreement over whether the Gophers play tough, but let's assume they could play even tougher. Who on the Gopher staff is a candidate to make the Gophers tougher?

Link: Facts & Figures: Illinois vs. Minnesota

no clue how to spell it...

I know he had an injury and had to redshirt. Is he practicing at all or did the injury/surgery keep him off the field entirely?

Curious if he can help us next year

Link: Minnesota the likely favorite for Terry

"I’m just going to tell you straight up, I could be helping that program a heck of a lot right now.”

http://www.startribune.com/rejuvena...937711/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Strib has an update on Kill...glad to hear he's doing well but that quote stuck out.

Best of luck Coach Kill and Go Gophers!

Let's can t6he coaching speculation while the season plays out. It is completely premature at this point and only hurts recruiting. Yes people do pick this stuff up.

It wasn't for lack of effort, or dedication to the Maroon and Gold, but Duke's football career is over according to a confidential source, due to ongoing issues with his knees. A gifted athlete, and intelligent young man, just couldn't shake the injury bug having suffered from a broken arm and at least three knee injuries which required surgery.
Thanks Duke for being a true representative of the student-athlete. Best wishes for much future success.

In town for a wedding have a group looking for a place to watch the Gophs, any ideas?