Not quite as certain this week

Greetings.

I just don't have as much of a feeling about this game as I did last week. Last week you could feel the buzz around a team preparing for a must-win game and also wanting to do well in dedication to fallen receiver Eric Decker.

This week? Illinois has just two wins, but has a very capable offense that exploded for some big plays last week. It is interesting that the Gophers are in position to become bowl-eligible against the same team it picked up win No. 6 against last year.

Having said all that, here are some reasons that could result either in a Gophers win or loss. .

Why the Gophers will win:

1. Illinois is dead last vs. the run. I think the Gophers will need to establish a running game to make the play-action passing game click. I'm not so certain that it might not become something akin to the Purdue game in the running sense.

2. Illinois doesn't sack the quarterback much. You saw what Adam Weber was able to do last week when given time.

3. The Gophers tend to score a lot of points in TCF Bank Stadium, where they average 29.2 points per game.

4. Illinois quarterbacks get sacked. A lot. I think the Gophers will find a way to put heat on the Juice.

5. Like the Gophers, the Illinois defense has struggled to get off the field on third down.

Five reasons they won't.

1. The Illini offense has found itself. Williams was good with both his feet and his arm against Michigan. But all those rushing yards? All those big plays? Illinois had 10 running plays longer than 10 yards in that game.

2.  Benn decides to be Benn. Arrelious Benn is a very big target. Actually, the Illini have a lot of very big wide receivers. There is a very definite size advantage vs. the Gophers defensive backs.

3.  Big plays. Illinois is starting to make them and the Gophers have made a recent habit of allowing a few of them each game.

4. Jason Ford and Mikel Leshoure.

So, ultimately, what do I think?

I think that Adam Weber has his confidence back, which is a good thing. I see the Gophers scoring a good bit, keeping the ball long enough to keep the Illini offense off the field. I see Illini's big plays being, for the most part, bottled up. In the end I think the  Gophers win by a field goal and become bowl eligible.

A couple other notes:

--Tight end Nick Tow-Arnett and tackle Dom Alford were back at practice after sitting out Tuesday.

--Gophers coach Tim Brewster is not ruling out the possibility that center Jeff Tow-Arnett, who is coming off surgery to repair a broken leg, might be available to play before the regular season ends.

Oh, one other thing. I'll be doing a live chat tomorrow at noon, if you want to spend your lunch hour tapping my limited brain for Gophers information.

That's it. Be nice.