Oct. 26, 2014
By Lexi Shurilla, fightingillini.com staff writer | @SusanAlexisS
Recap | Highlights | Photos | Infographic | Notes | Stats | Printable Stats | Quotes
Postgame Video: OC Cubit | DC Banks | QB O'Toole | STAR Thomas III | LB Monheim
| Next Game |
 Fighting Illini
4-4 (1-3) |
at |
 Ohio State
6-1 (3-0) |
November 1 | 7 pm CT | Ohio Stadium
Buy Tickets |
Illinois debuted its "Gray Ghost" uniforms and used a strong defense to take down the No. 24 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Homecoming, 28-24.
"Wow, what a game," Illinois head coach Tim Beckman said. "It's been a long time, no question about it [since a home Big Ten win], and I can't tell you what fight these players have put up from day one on June 10 to where we're at right now. The fight, the competitiveness, the belief that we could be successful if we just played four quarters and don't beat ourselves, and that's exactly what they did."
Ghost of Homecomings Past
With a beautiful sunny day gracing Champaign-Urbana for Homecoming weekend, Illinois' defense helped hold off the Gophers for most of the first half on Saturday. Trading in their Orange & Blue for a bit of gray, Illinois donned "Gray Ghost" uniforms to honor the 90th anniversary of Harold "Red" Grange's six-touchdown performance against Michigan in the Memorial Stadium dedication game in 1924. After beating the Gophers, Beckman joked that the team may never take off the gray uniforms.
While Beckman utilized two quarterbacks in the contest, senior Reilly O'Toole held the position for the majority of the game for the Illini and got Illinois its first touchdown at the 9:31 mark in the first quarter when he hit Jon Davis for a TD to put Illinois on the board first, 7-0. Aaron Bailey made a brief appearance in the first half, but O'Toole commanded the field for the rest of the game.
With just over two minutes left in the first quarter, O'Toole tossed the ball to freshman Mike Dudek who then completed a pass to Geronimo Allison, giving Illinois 22 yards and momentum breaking into Illini territory. The drive ended with a nine-yard touchdown run by O'Toole to give Illinois a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
O'Toole was consistent and efficient on Saturday, and protected the ball. He also did more running than usual against the Gophers, rushing for a career-high 59 yards and his third career rushing touchdown. He also finished 14-of-21 passing for 118 yards.
"It's been something that we've been harping on a lot," O'Toole said of Illinois' run game. "We were off to a good start today and put it all together. Earlier in the year, we were playing great in the second half and then in the first half we weren't playing as well. So once we put it all together, I think we can be a really dangerous team."
Defensive Fight
Illinois' defense has struggled with consistency in 2014, with big plays overshadowing mostly solid effort. But the Orange and Blue showed improvement in that aspect on Saturday, only allowing one long scoring play. Looking deeper inside the numbers, the Illini held Minnesota to 2.8 yards per play on 66 of its 71 plays, with the Gophers posting 223 of its 411 total yards on five big plays.
Improved tackling by the Illini helped take down Minnesota's running game. Thanks to the Illini's defensive efforts, the Gophers didn't get on the board until the 12:53 mark of the second quarter after sending up a field goal to cut the margin to 14-3.
Capping off an impressive first half by the Illini defense, Illinois took down Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner with a sack on third down with a minute to go in the second quarter to stifle the Gophers' drive and force a punt on fourth down, securing Illinois' 14-3 lead going into halftime.
"I thought they played extremely well," Illini defensive coordinator Tim Banks said of his crew. "We challenged the guys all week that we had to control the line of scrimmage and I thought they answered the bell. When those guys are playing at the level they played at today, it makes everyone else's jobs that much easier. They were excited about the challenge. We knew Minnesota coming in would try to exploit what has been a weakness for us, in terms of running the ball. For us to be successful, we had to really limit those guys and not allow them to pound us, and I thought we did that today."
Getting that confidence early paid off in the end when the defense outlasted the running game of Minnesota for the second half.
"I think we were fresher," Beckman said of the defense. "I think the plan that we had on the off week was beneficial for our football team because they've been going since June 10 without a break. It was very beneficial that they all realized what we were capable of doing."
Illinois was able to force turnovers against the Gophers, adding three takeaways including two fumbles and one interception in a game for the second time this season. In addition to turnovers, the defense came up big throughout the day, forcing five three-and-outs on the day and holding the Gophers to just 86 total yards in the first half.
"It's always key," Banks said of forcing turnovers. "Anytime you can get that ball back and create a short field for our offense, it's everything. It's a momentum changer. We pride ourselves week in and week out on trying to get the ball back, and we did that today. And they were timely. Being able to score on defense, that's huge. We've been doing a lot of good things well. The Achilles' heel has been stopping the run, but I thought we did that today."
Fighting Until the End
On Minnesota's first drive of the second half, Mason Monheim intercepted Leidner's pass to give Illinois excellent field position on its own 31 yard line. It was Monheim's first interception since 2012. But on Illinois' next play, a backwards pass resulted in a fumble and the Gophers recovered. Minnesota then scored on its first play, a 52-yard strike from Leidner to Isaac Fruechte, to bring the Gophers within 14-10 at the 12:58 mark of the third quarter.
Thanks to the effort of the feisty freshman Mike Dudek, and the quick feet of Josh Ferguson, Illinois made it into the red zone with under nine minutes in the third quarter and Ferguson was able to stretch his arm over the pileup on the goal line to secure an Illinois touchdown and push the lead to 21-10.
After a solid performance by the Illinois defense in the first half, Minnesota's offense checked in to add two touchdowns over a mere three plays to give them the lead, 24-21, at the end of the third quarter.
Beckman & Co. predicted a 28-24 football game, and it turns out that he was exactly right. Trailing 24-21 after three quarters, Illinois mounted its fourth fourth-quarter comeback this season, surpassing the 1992 and 2001 seasons when the Illini had three fourth-quarter comeback wins.
With 6:33 left in the game, V'Angelo Bentley picked up a Minnesota fumble at the Gopher 12 yard line and rushed into the end zone to give Illinois the lead once again, 28-24. With his 12-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown, Bentley became the first Illinois player in school history to record a kickoff return, punt return, interception return and fumble return for touchdowns in his career.
"I'm honored, but there's still work to do," Bentley said. "I just want to make plays for our team to win, however they come, getting points or setting up points."
"I've known V'Angelo for many, many years prior to him coming here," Beckman said. "When you see him reap the benefits of a big play, you can't be more proud of him, it's almost like a father feeling.
"This [win] is about the 105 football players. This is what you're in the profession for. They've earned it. They've worked their kiesters off and I can't tell you how I proud I am of the way that they played."
The Illinois defense definitely showed up for all four quarters to fend off the Gophers, and its effort showed with holding off Minnesota's last few plays to secure a homecoming victory and the first Big Ten win at Memorial Stadium in over two years.
"It's long overdue but it's an awesome feeling," Monheim said. "Credit to our team and the way we prepared the last couple weeks. I'm proud of us. I think we just executed. We weren't giving up the huge plays. I think for the most part we put together a four-quarter game, and the best one this season."
"Just to see them, [their reactions], that's what it's all about," Beckman said. "To see the smiles on their faces and the celebration on homecoming. This university deserves this too."
"It means the world," O'Toole said of the victory. "You love winning but especially this group of guys that are so close and we work so hard day in and day out. We've had a tough couple of losses the past few weeks and I'm just really excited to get back out on the field and show the fans and Illini nation that we are a good team and we're going to keep fighting."
