When coaches draw up game plans, they hope they work like the one Illinois exhibited Saturday night.
Illinois put on an offensive display of historic proportions Saturday night in routing Minnesota 44-17, the biggest victory margin among their 11 in coach Ron Zook’s three seasons.
With the win, Illinois (7-3, 4-2) virtually wrapped up its first bowl bid since the 2001 Sugar Bowl and moved into sole possession of third place in the Big Ten.
“We were bowl-eligible, but this clinches it,” senior linebacker J Leman said. “We were ready to play from the get-go.”
“I told them I’m proud of them,” Zook said.
“I thought this was another step for us in terms of our program, coming into a hostile environment, on the road, all day to wait, a game many people didn’t know how we’d play and whether we’d play the way we’re capable of playing.
“We came out and played the way we’re capable of playing, and I felt we would based on how we practiced this week. Until you do it, though, you never know.”
Minnesota entered the game last in NCAA Division I-A in defense, and Illinois took advantage.
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The Illini piled up 655 total yards, third most in school history. They ran for a gaudy 448 yards, No. 5 on the all-time list.
Sophomore quarterback Juice Williams, who has struggled this season, looked like a polished veteran. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards.
“He was pretty good,” Zook said. “He threw the ball extremely well and he ran the offense, and that’s one thing people don’t see, he runs it well.
“He’s relaxed and confident.”
Williams tossed first-quarter touchdown passes of 47 yards to Jacob Willis and 22 yards to Jeff Cumberland, staking the Illini to a 14-0 lead. The last-place Gophers (1-9, 0-6) never challenged.
“It’s always great to get wins, but it feels even better with the passing game starting to click now,” Williams said.
“We showed we can throw the ball, that we can throw the ball when teams load up the box to stop the option. The passing game is all about confidence. The biggest thing was not trying to second-guess myself, and having poise in the pocket.”
Illinois visits No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State on Saturday, so a victory like this is seen as a confidence-builder.
“We still have a couple of games left to go here,” Zook said. “The No. 1 team is next.
“I told them there are a lot of people who play college football who don’t get to play the No. 1 team in the land.”
In perhaps another sign of progress, the Illini did not appear to be looking past the Gophers.
“We had to make sure we took care of business here,” Zook said.
Illinois piled up 429 yards of total offense in the first half — which is a figure that would be good for an entire game — on its way to a 34-10 halftime lead.
Williams finished with 133 yards on 18 carries, giving him 330 yards of total offense. He scored on a 7-yard keeper in the second quarter.
Rashard Mendenhall moved within 17 yards of the school’s single-season rushing record by gaining 201 yards on 17 carries.
He scored on a 64-yard run in the second quarter and a 33-yarder in the fourth quarter.
“When we’re attacking and we have balance, we’re going to be very hard to stop,” Mendenhall said.
Jason Reda kicked field goals of 47, 37 and 51 yards, making him 13 of 14 this season with three of 50 yards or more.
“We just weren’t up to the challenge of stopping those guys,” said first-year Gophers coach Tim Brewster, a former Illini tight end.
The Illini were so dominant, they didn’t punt until 3 minutes 11 seconds remained in the third quarter.
They didn’t punt again as they ended a four-game losing streak at Minnesota. Illinois hadn’t won at the Metrodome since 1994.
“We’re in the thick of this thing,” Zook said of the race for a postseason berth.
“All we can do is take care of us and not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
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