Illinois falls to second place in a row with its loss to Minnesota

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Max Brosmer threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Geers and Dragan Kesich hit his fourth field goal of the game in the final five minutes to give Minnesota a 25-17 victory over No. 24 Illinois on Saturday.

It was the fourth straight win for Minnesota (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten), while Illinois (6-3, 3-3) picked up its second straight win.

Brosmer completed 22 of 37 passes for 213 yards and a TD. Darius Taylor ran for 131 yards and a TD on 22 carries and was the Golden Gophers' leading receiver with nine catches for 58 yards. Elijah Spencer had six catches for 67 yards.

Luke Altmyer was 20 of 33 for 226 yards and a TD for Illinois, but lost two fumbles.

Illinois' final drive ended deep in Minnesota territory when Altmyer was sacked by Jah Joyner and his fumble was recovered by Danny Striggow at the Gophers' 27.

Pat Bryant had five catches for 72 yards and Zakhari Franklin caught five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown for Illinois. Josh McCray ran seven times for 71 yards and a TD.

Illinois took a 17-16 lead with 9:03 left when Altmyer threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Franklin after Minnesota's Mark Crawford's run came up short on a fake and gave the Illini the ball on their own gave strength.

The takeaway food

Illinois: The Illini are no longer perfect at home this season and coach Bret Bielema is no longer perfect in his coaching career against Minnesota. The Illini fell 5-1 at home and Bielema is 10-1 against Minnesota. He beat the Gophers seven times from 2006 to 2012 when he was coach at Wisconsin. This is his fourth season at Illinois.

Minnesota: The Gophers haven't lost since their loss to Michigan on Sept. 28. In the four games they beat the then number 1 team. 11 Southern Cal and now No. 24 Illinois. A big reason is a stingy pass defense. Altmyer's touchdown pass to Franklin was just the sixth TD pass allowed by Minnesota this season.

Impact on the survey

After being ranked for seven straight weeks, its highest since the 2001 Big Ten championship team's 10-week ranking, Illinois will likely be eliminated next week. Minnesota could be a candidate to participate in the survey.

Next

Illinois: Hosts Michigan State on November 16th.

Minnesota: At Rutgers next Saturday.