The Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3) face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2) on Saturday, November 2nd. This game will be played at Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) in Champaign and televised on FS1. Minnesota is coming off a win in their previous game, while Illinois is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Oregon. Kickoff is set for 12:00 ET.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

NoneNone

Minnesota Offense Breakdown

Minnesota’s passing game has been the focal point of their offense, ranking 22nd in completions and averaging 30.9 attempts per game. They are 50th in scoring, with 27.9 points per game, and we have them 60th in our offensive power rankings heading into week 10.

Quarterback Max Brosmer has thrown for 1,776 yards, posting a passer rating of 100. He has 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Minnesota ranks 17th in third-down conversions, converting 47% of their attempts. Darius Taylor leads the rushing attack with 513 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Illinois Offense Breakdown

Heading into week 10, Illinois’ offense ranks 50th in our power rankings, averaging 27 points per game. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has thrown for 1,667 yards, completing 63.1% of his passes, with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 103. Illinois ranks 28th nationally in passer rating.

They are 46th in passing completions, averaging 17.4 per game, and convert 41.8% of their third downs. On the ground, Illinois averages 145 rushing yards per game. Kaden Feagin leads the rushing attack with 306 yards and three touchdowns. Pat Bryant has 504 receiving yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Minnesota Team Defense

Minnesota’s defense has been a strong point this season, ranking 15th nationally by allowing just 16.8 points per game. They’ve also held opponents to 162.5 passing yards per game, the 12th-lowest in the country, and a passer rating of 55.8, which ranks fifth.

In their recent game against Maryland, Minnesota’s defense gave up 23 points but forced two interceptions. They allowed 428 total yards, including 323 passing yards, while holding Maryland to 105 rushing yards.

Minnesota Team Defense

Illinois’ defense will look to rebound after allowing 38 points in their recent loss to Oregon. They gave up 527 total yards, including 298 passing yards and three touchdowns, though they did manage to force an interception.

On the season, Illinois ranks 34th nationally, allowing 20.6 points per game. Opponents are averaging 211.2 passing yards and 156.2 rushing yards per game against the Illini defense.

Minnesota vs Illinois Trends

• In their last three road games, Minnesota has averaged 16 points per game while allowing 27. The team’s record in this stretch was 1-2 while going 2-1.
• Through their last ten home games, Illinois has an ATS record of just 7-3. However, their overall record was 4-6 while averaging 21 points per game.
• Looking back on the team’s last ten games as the underdog, the Illinois Fighting Illini have a straight up record of 5-5. Their record vs the spread in these games was 7-3.
• As the betting favorite, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have an ATS record of 3-0 in their last three games. In these matchups, their straight up record was 3-0.

Golden Gophers vs Fighting Illini Prediction

Minnesota comes into this week 10 matchup as -3 point favorites on the road vs. Illinois. We have a projected final score of 23-16 in favor of the Gophers, so we recommend taking Minnesota to cover the -3 point spread.

With the over/under line currently at 45.5 points, our projection of 39 total points suggests that taking the under is the best play for this game.

---

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

---

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.