Illini's folly, Brewster's glory

"I tell you what, guys," said Brewster, who left his alma mater with a victory. "This victory is sweet."

Gophers are toast of Champaign

But three turnovers and a failure to score from the Minnesota 1 in two tries late in the third quarter doomed the Illini.

"To come on homecoming and take an L to Minnesota after how we played last week at Michigan, it's hard to swallow right now,'' said Illini receiver Arrelious Benn.

Loss to Minnesota reminds Illini of '06

What will this loss cost the Illini? That's the question no one can accurately answer right now, because in this weird Big Ten Conference, predictions are out the window. Will it derail the team and point them to more unexpected losses? Will they bounce back better than ever?

Tupper

Zook set what is believed to be a personal record for getting in and out of the postgame interview session. His chat was 5 minutes, 43 seconds of ticked off. Losing ugly on Homecoming Day - something the Illini now have managed 54 times in 98 tries - to fall to 3-3 at the midpoint of the season will do that.

Illini Homecoming event mostly a bust

You can't say we weren't warned.

Ron Zook spent a sleepless week wearing his voice to gravel, only to see his worst nightmare realized. The Illini, having scored their most points ever (45) at Michigan, went nearly 50 minutes without a touchdown against a Minnesota club that was unranked and disrespected despite a 5-1 record.

Tate: Illini go kicking, steaming