The recent struggles of the Illinois Fighting Illini have carried over to the regular-season finale at Minnesota, as Illinois has struggled to generate any offense and trails 20-0 at the half.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Gophers reeled off 20 unanswered points to take the comfortable lead. Minnesota QB MarQueis Gray accounted for both TD's in the second quarter, throwing a TD pass to John Rabe and scoring a rushing TD from 16 yards out. Gray has shown his tremendous versatility throughout the game, rushing for 133 yards on 22 carries and completing 7/11 for 85 yards and a TD. Senior WR Dajon McKnight has been the main threat through the air, grabbing four catches for 46 yards.
The Illinois offense has been almost non-existent, recording only 39 yards and two first downs. Senior RB Jason Ford ran for 32 yards in the opening half but proved to be the only form of consistency for the Fighting Illini.
For updates on this matchup, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit SB Nation's Illinois blog, Hail to the Orange, and SB Nation's Minnesota blog, The Daily Gopher. For more news and notes from around college football, visit SB Nation's NCAA football news hub.