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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota's Tellis Redmon was a backup one
week ago, bounced from the starting lineup by a fumble and the
promise shown by the redshirt freshman who replaced him.
|  | | Minnesota back Tellis Redmon, who ran for 183 yards and caught three passes for 116 yards, celebrated a second-quarter TD. |
Redmon made quite a case for his permanent return to the
starting job by accumulating nearly 300 yards in the Gophers' 44-10
victory over Illinois (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today; No. 24 AP) on Saturday.
He ran for 183 yards on 31 carries, gaining 151 of them in the
first half, and caught three passes for 116 yards.
Minnesota coach Glen Mason had settled a quarterback controversy
this week by replacing Asad Abdul-Khaliq with Travis Cole, who
passed for 170 yards and ran for 82 in three quarters against the
Illini. Mason wasn't ready to choose between Redmon, who was
removed from the field after fumbling at Baylor, or Thomas Tapeh,
who rushed for 183 yards in that game but was limited Saturday by a
foot injury.
Mason, instead, focused on the Gophers' best performance of the
season.
"We're probably not as bad as people would think of the last
four games, and probably not as good as today," Mason said. "If
those four field-goal attempts had been touchdowns, it would have
been astronomical."
The Gophers (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) overwhelmed the Illini (3-2, 0-2)
much as they did in a 37-7 victory last season, by running between
the tackles. They gained 364 yards rushing, just 3 fewer than in
that game last season.
"During warmups, coach Mason told me to wipe that smile from my
face," Redmon said. "He said you have to turn that smile into an
attitude."
On a second-quarter possession, the Gophers continually ran
Redmon inside and dared the Illini to stop him. Redmon carried the
ball on all six downs of a drive that began at the 50 and ended
with his 3-yard touchdown. Redmon also had a 25-yard touchdown run
later in the second quarter. He set up a 19-yard field goal by Dan
Nystrom in the third quarter by running 62 yards along the right
sideline after catching a short pass from Cole.
"It's plain and simple: Redmon is a great runner in the open
field," Illinois safety Muhammad Abdullah said. "We learned that
today. He had quicker feet than I anticipated."
Cole, a junior-college transfer, took over the starting job from
redshirt freshman Abdul-Khaliq, who entered the game in the fourth
quarter, with the Gophers leading 34-3. Cole scored the Gophers'
two first-quarter touchdowns, sweeping left for 28 yards and
following his center on a 1-yard burst. He scrambled for a 21-yard
gain on the second touchdown drive.
The Illini fell behind 28-0 in the first half and trailed 28-3
at the half.
"The first half was an embarrassment," Illinois coach Ron
Turner said. "One team came to fight, one team didn't. One team
came to play with passion, one team didn't."
Illinois' Kurt Kittner completed only 13 of 34 passes for 103
yards, and the running game accounted for only 82 yards.
"We couldn't run, we couldn't pass," Kittner said. "We got
totally nothing done today."
Gophers defensive tackle Mike Anderle batted down five passes by
Kittner, who was under pressure the entire afternoon.
"It was a combination of the d-backs covering and the linemen
getting on him," said defensive end Karon Riley, who had one of
the Gophers' three sacks. "It all works together as one big
machine."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Illinois Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tellis Redmon goes up the middle for a 20-yard TD run.
avi: 730 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Travis Cole scores from seven yards out on a quarterback keeper.
avi: 831 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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