When coaches draw up game plans, they hope they work like the one Illinois put on display Saturday night.
The Illini ran and passed their way to the most explosive half of football in Ron Zook’s three seasons as coach and cruised to a 44-17 victory over Minnesota at the Metrodome.
Illinois piled up 429 yards of total offense in the first half, a figure that would be good for an entire game, on their way to a 34-10 halftime lead.
With the victory, Illinois (7-3, 4-2) virtually clinched its first bowl bid since the 2001 Sugar Bowl and moved into sole possession of third place in the Big Ten.
With a date Saturday at No. 1-ranked Ohio State, holding onto third place won’t be easy. But Saturday’s victory gave the Illini breathing room in a crowded middle of the Big Ten in which seven victories likely will be the minimum to lock up a postseason berth.
Illinois is only the most recent team to exploit a Minnesota defense that went into the game ranked last among the 119 Division I-A teams in total defense and pass defense. The Illini were so dominant they didn’t punt until 3:11 remained in the third quarter.
The Gophers’ run defense isn’t much of a threat either; it had allowed 701 yards rushing in its previous two games, losses to North Dakota State and Michigan. And the Illini ran through them for 255 yards in the first two quarters Saturday night.
Illinois wasted little time asserting itself on its first possession with the kind of drive Zook and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley want to see more of.
After a replay review reversed a Juice Williams fumble that Minnesota recovered, the quarterback took advantage. On third-and-12, Williams had plenty of time to throw and hit Jacob Willis on a deep post route for a 47-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Illinois lead.
Illinois moved the ball at will on its second possession. The Illini drove 88 yards on 11 plays and took a 14-0 lead when Williams hit Jeff Cumberland on a post pattern for a 22-yard score with 4:03 still left in the first quarter.
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The first two drives had something in common. On both touchdown passes, Williams had time to throw and used it well, waiting for the play to develop and hitting the receiver in stride. Illinois’ next challenge is to throw the ball like that the rest of the season.
Minnesota cut its deficit to 14-3 on Joel Monroe’s 36-yard field goal with 12:32 left in the first half.
That’s when Rashard Mendenhall got into the act, going around right end for a 64-yard touchdown run to extend the Illinois lead to 21-3. He finished the first half with 118 yards rushing, and had 201 yards on 17 carries in the game.
The Gophers responded with a 48-yard drive that ended with Adam Weber’s 15-yard TD pass to Ernie Wheelwright, making the score 21-10 and giving their fans hope.
It didn’t last long.
Williams orchestrated a 77-yard drive and finished it off himself with a 7-yard run to make it 28-10.
The kicking game had a good night too. Jason Reda finished off the first half with filed goals of 47 and 37 in the final 1:22 to make it 34-10 at halftime.
He made it 37-10 on the first possession of the second half with his third field goal of the year from 50 or more yards, this one a 51-yarder.
The loss dropped Minnesota to 1-9 overall and 0-6 in conference in its first season under coach Tim Brewster, who was an Illinois tight end in the 1980s.
The Gophers have a promising redshirt freshman quarterback in Weber and a solid receiver corps. Wheelwright had seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
Two years ago, Zook’s first team played like this Minnesota team, and finished 2-9. Saturday night, the Illini looked more than two years ahead of the Gophers.
With the victory, Illinois ended a four-game losing streak at Minnesota. It hadn’t won at the Metrodome since 1994.
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