University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
4-5 , 1-5
Illinois
4-5 , 2-4
Gophers Fall in Big Ten Game at Illinois
11/3/2018 6:02:00 PM | Football
Rashod Bateman had seven catches for 175 yards and two scores.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Reggie Corbin rushed for 213 yards and two touchdowns as Illinois defeated Minnesota 55-31 on Saturday.
Minnesota (4-5, 1-5) had trouble all game stopping the run, giving up 430 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.Illinois' first two possessions resulted in two 72-yard touchdown runs -- one by Corbin and the other by Dre Brown. Both came on second-and-long and both backs were untouched once they cleared the line of scrimmage. Corbin later ripped off a 77-yard scoring run.
Brown rushed for 92 yards and one touchdown. He was playing in lieu of injured starting running back Mike Epstein, who generally shares carries with Corbin.
Illinois quarterback AJ Bush managed the game well and accounted for four Illinois touchdowns, going 18 of 25 for 216 passing yards with two touchdowns, and one interception. Bush rushed for 127 yards on 14 carries and two more touchdowns.
Tanner Morgan, starting at quarterback for the second straight game for injured starter Zack Annexstad, was 14 of 27 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Illinois led 24-17 at the half.
Sandwiched between the Illini scoring runs to open the game was a 12-play Minnesota drive that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run by Mohamed Ibrahim.
THE TAKEAWAY
Minnesota: Needs six wins to nail down a bowl bid, and Saturday's defeat makes it all the more difficult. With three games left, against Purdue, Northwestern and Wisconsin, they need wins in two of them. Not impossible, but not easy.
Illinois: The win may have helped cool the hot seat coach Lovie Smith had found himself on. Calling the defense after the abrupt resignation last week of coordinator Hardy Nickerson, Smith acquitted himself well, with his defense giving up 438 yards, substantially less than in past weeks.
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UP NEXT
Minnesota: Hosts Purdue on Saturday.
Illinois: Travels to Nebraska next week.
Team Stats
MINN 0, ILL 7
ILL - Corbin,Reggie 72 yd run (McLaughlin,C. kick), 2 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:39
MINN 7, ILL 7
MINN - Ibrahim, M 4 yd run (Carpenter,Emmit kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:50
MINN 7, ILL 14
ILL - Brown,Dre 72 yd run (McLaughlin,C. kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:30
MINN 7, ILL 17
ILL - McLaughlin,C. 36 yd field goal 7 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:21
MINN 14, ILL 17
MINN - Ibrahim, M 1 yd run (Carpenter,Emmit kick), 10 plays, 77 yards, TOP 5:37
MINN 14, ILL 24
ILL - Smalling,Ricky 67 yd pass from Bush,AJ (McLaughlin,C. kick) 3 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:26
MINN 17, ILL 24
MINN - Carpenter,Emmit 28 yd field goal 6 plays, 41 yards, TOP 0:33
MINN 17, ILL 31
ILL - Bush,AJ 3 yd run (McLaughlin,C. kick), 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:57
MINN 17, ILL 38
ILL - Barker,Daniel 30 yd pass from Bush,AJ (McLaughlin,C. kick) 1 plays, 30 yards, TOP 0:12
MINN 17, ILL 45
ILL - Corbin,Reggie 77 yd run (McLaughlin,C. kick), 4 plays, 89 yards, TOP 1:46
MINN 17, ILL 48
ILL - McLaughlin,C. 48 yd field goal 9 plays, 54 yards, TOP 4:59
MINN 24, ILL 48
MINN - Bateman, Rashod 61 yd pass from Morgan, Tanner (Carpenter,Emmit kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:04
MINN 24, ILL 55
ILL - Bush,AJ 12 yd run (McLaughlin,C. kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:32
MINN 31, ILL 55
MINN - Bateman, Rashod 86 yd pass from Morgan, Tanner (Carpenter,Emmit kick) 3 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:13
