Following a 41-20 victory over Indiana on October 8, the Illinois Fighting Illini were 6-0 and had won their first two games in Big 10 play. After falling 27-7 to Minnesota, Illinois completed a monumental collapse, as it has lost six straight games to finish the season, with the last three losses all coming by double-digits.
After a scoreless first quarter, this game became the MarQueis Gray show, with the Minnesota QB willing his team to a victory. While Gray completed 7/14 for 85 yards and a TD through the air, it was his performance running the ball that keyed the victory. Gray ran the ball 27 times for 167 yards and scored 2 TD's in the win.
Illinois struggled throughout the game to generate any form of consistency on offense. Reilly O'Toole and Nathan Scheelhaase combined to complete 15/27 for 78 yards, while Jason Ford led the way on the ground with 43 yards. The Fighting Illini only managed to gain 160 yards in the loss.
This game marked the regular-season finale for both teams.Illinois is bowl-eligible and will await the announcement of where it will play next.
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.