After a perfect October, Minnesota visits No. 24 Illinois looking for fourth straight win

By The Associated Press The Associated Press

Minnesota running back Darius Taylor, right, celebrates on the field with a swarm of fans after winning an NCAA college football game against Southern California Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ellen Schmidt]

Minnesota (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) at No. 24 Illinois (6-2, 3-2), Saturday, noon ET (FS1)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Minnesota by 3.

Series record: Minnesota leads 40-33-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

After losing 38-9 last week to No. 1 Oregon, the Illini risk dropping out of the AP Top 25 with a home loss to Minnesota. The Gophers had a perfect October, beating then-No. 11 Southern California, UCLA and Maryland, and will become bowl eligible with a win over Illinois. Minnesota hasn’t beaten two Top 25 teams during the regular season since 2000.

KEY MATCHUP

Illinois QB Luke Altmyer vs. the Minnesota secondary. Altmyer is seventh in the Big Ten in passing yardage (1,667), seventh in passing efficiency (143.9), fourth in TD passes (15) and tied for first for fewest interceptions (3). He’ll be tested by the Gophers, who have allowed just five passing TDs this season. CBs Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson shut down Maryland’s dangerous passing attack last week.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Illinois: DB Xavier Scott. Named this week one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award that honors the nation’s best defensive back, Scott is tied for third in the Big Ten with three interceptions and has 29 tackles, two tackles for losses, a sack, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Minnesota: WR Elijah Spencer. In his second season with the Gophers after transferring from Charlotte, Spencer finally had a breakout game against Maryland last week with six catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. He gives the Gophers another downfield threat in addition to Daniel Jackson, who had nine catches for 117 yards and TDs vs. Maryland after a career-high 10 catches two weeks earlier against UCLA.

FACTS & FIGURES

Illinois has been ranked for seven consecutive weeks, the most since the 2001 Big Ten championship team was ranked for 10 straight weeks … The Illini are the only Big Ten team with three wins over ranked teams this season. Their only losses are to No. 1 Oregon and No. 3 Penn State. … The Gophers beat Maryland 48-23 last week. It was the most points they’d scored in a conference game since 2019, when they beat Maryland 52-10. The 25-point margin of victory was their largest in a Big Ten game since a 31-3 win over Northwestern in 2022. … Minnesota safety Koi Perich leads the Big Ten and is No. 2 in the nation with five interceptions. The freshman also leads the conference with an average of 14.2 yards per punt return. … The Gophers last had a four-game Big Ten winning streak in 2021 — a streak ended by the Illini with a 14-6 win at Minnesota.

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