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DeLeon Eskridge rescued Minnesota from
its tenth loss Saturday, leading the Gophers to a 38-34 comeback
upset of Illinois with a last-minute touchdown run.


      Eskridge scored three touchdowns for the Golden Gophers (2-9,
1-6 Big Ten) and rushed for 49 yards on 14 carries.


      The last, a 2-yarder, came with 16 seconds to play and capped an
80-yard drive engineered by quarterback Adam Weber.


      Trailing 34-31 and facing a third and 10 at his own 20 with 2:30
to play, Weber dropped back to pass and didn't see an open
receiver. Instead he saw a huge hole in the middle of the Illinois
defense, and ran straight into it for 29 yards and a first down at
the Minnesota 49.


      Six plays later Eskridge gave the Gophers the lead.


      Weber, who some fans have said should give way to sophomore
MarQueis Gray, was 20 of 26 for 225 yards and two TDs. He was
seldom pressured by the Fighting Illini.


      The loss keeps Illinois (5-5, 3-4) a game short of bowl
eligibility. Illinois hasn't been to a bowl in three years.


      With just over eight minutes to play, the Illini looked close to
locking up that key sixth win when Mikel Leshoure burst around the
right end for a 55-yard touchdown that, with the extra point, gave
Illinois a 34-24 lead.


      Leshoure finished with 141 yards on 18 carries and scored two
touchdowns.


      Badly needing an answer to Leshoure's potentially back-breaking
run, the Gophers got a 92-yard kickoff return by Troy Stoudermire.
Justin Green's tackle at the Illinois 4 only delayed the
inevitable.


      It was Eskridge this time, too, running 4 yards on second down
for a score that pulled the Gophers back to within three at 34-31
with 7:55 to play.


      The Gopher defense, which sacked quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase
three times, quickly stopped the Illini on their next two
possessions, not allowing Illinois even one clock-draining first
down.


      Minnesota led 17-7 at the half on Eskridge's first touchdown
run, a scoring pass from Weber to Tiree Eure and a line-drive
45-yard field goal by Eric Ellestad.


      Illinois turned that halftime deficit into a lead in the first
eight minutes of the second half.


      Leshoure's first touchdown ended an 80-yard drive that made the
score 17-14.


      Minutes later, Illinois linebacker Nate Bussey recovered a
fumble by Gopher Eric Lair at the Minnesota 37.


      From there, Scheelhaase guided Illinois to the 17, where he
flawlessly led Spencer Harris on a crossing route into the end
zone. Illinois blew the extra point, but was back in the lead,
20-17, with 7:59 to play in the third quarter.


      Scheelhaase was 10 of 21 for 172 yards and two TDs. He found
A.J. Jenkins six times for 137 yards and a touchdown.


      Illinois has two shots left at the sixth win that would make it
bowl eligible. Both are on the road, at Northwestern and Fresno
State. Illinois hasn't been to the postseason since the 2008 Rose
Bowl.

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Minnesota Gophers

The Minnesota Gophers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game to defeat Illinois, 38-34, for interim coach Jeff Horton's first Big Ten victory.

Minnesota upsets Illinois with comeback, 38-34

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