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University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
5-6 , 2-5
Illinois
5-6 , 2-5
Brooks, Gophers Beat Illinois, 32-23
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
MINNEAPOLIS -- Shannon Brooks rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard romp into the end zone with 1:25 remaining for Minnesota to seal a 32-23 victory over Illinois on Saturday.
Mitch Leidner threw a third-and-goal touchdown pass to Rashad Still with 5 seconds left before halftime, helping the Golden Gophers (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) stop a four-game losing streak.
Malik Turner caught 11 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown from Wes Lunt for the Fighting Illini (5-6, 2-5), who outgained the Gophers 432-343 in total yardage and had the ball for more than two-thirds of the second half.
Taylor Zalewski's third field goal of the game brought the Illini within one point with 6:56 remaining, and the Gophers were forced to punt for a third time in the second half. The Illini took over with a one-point deficit and less than 5 minutes left at the 16, and an 11-yard sack by Julian Huff pushed them back.
Coach Bill Cubit called a screen pass that gained 2 yards on third-and-21 and then a punt, giving the Gophers the ball back. Brooks, the freshman from Atlanta, took care of the rest. Leidner ran in for the 2-point conversion to put the game out of reach.
Josh Ferguson had 105 yards on 20 carries to move onto the top-10 rushing list in Illinois history, setting up a short touchdown pass from Lunt to Andrew Davis that cut Minnesota's lead to 21-20.
The sky was sunny, but the afternoon air was cold with a kickoff temperature of 22 degrees, the third-lowest in seven seasons for the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium. The record was Nov. 15, 2014, a 15-degree kickoff against Ohio State.
The Gophers have won 11 of the last 15 games in this series, including five of the last seven.
Lunt, who leads the conference in completions despite a rash of drops by his receivers, found Turner open on third down for a 13-yard touchdown pass for the lead in the first quarter. With only five interceptions in 11 games, Lunt has had a solid junior season in Cubit's offense.
The Gophers soon found a groove, though, and they capped a crisp first half with a 15-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Leidner's pivot right on third down for a perfect 1-yard fade pass to Still at the edge of the end zone to give them a 21-13 lead. That was the offense's 10th touchdown in a seven-quarter span.
Turning a first-and-goal at the 1 into a touchdown was a relief for the Gophers and their fans, who gave away a golden chance to beat Michigan in similar albeit more dramatic fashion here on Oct. 31.
Freshman cornerback KiAnte Hardin had a breakout game for Minnesota, with a pass-breakup in the end zone, a 32-yard kickoff return and a 60-yard kickoff return that set up Ryan Santoso's 46-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Team Stats
ILL 7, MINN 0
ILL - Turner,Malik 13 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 5:34
ILL 7, MINN 7
MINN - Brooks, Shannon 5 yd run (Santoso, Ryan kick), 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:41
ILL 10, MINN 7
ILL - Zalewski,T. 23 yd field goal 8 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:43
ILL 10, MINN 14
MINN - Brooks, Shannon 38 yd run (Santoso, Ryan kick), 6 plays, 59 yards, TOP 2:40
ILL 13, MINN 14
ILL - Zalewski,T. 44 yd field goal 8 plays, 41 yards, TOP 3:31
ILL 13, MINN 21
MINN - Still, Rashad 1 yd pass from Leidner, Mitch (Santoso, Ryan kick) 15 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:34
ILL 20, MINN 21
ILL - Davis,Andrew 6 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:45
ILL 20, MINN 24
MINN - Santoso, Ryan 46 yd field goal 4 plays, 6 yards, TOP 2:01
ILL 23, MINN 24
ILL - Zalewski,T. 36 yd field goal 10 plays, 40 yards, TOP 4:11
ILL 23, MINN 32
MINN - Brooks, Shannon 75 yd run (Leidner, Mitch rush), 2 plays, 77 yards, TOP 0:57
