The Gophers failed their first big test of the season earlier this week against Illinois in the Big Ten opener. And calling it a failure might be doing it justice. Yes, Minnesota was facing very good Illini team, but was stuck out from the nearly 30-point drubbing was just how bad the Gophers looked on offense. They shot a miserable 27% from the field and were disastrous from long range once again, going 7-28. And that was after hitting their first three long balls to start the game.
Illinois played well, but it was the Gophers who gave the game away in fairly impressive fashion.