The Gophers look to get back on track vs. Illinois: Three things to follow

After a week off to lick their wounds from their first loss of the season, 20-10 to Purdue on Oct. 1, the Gophers return to action Saturday at No. 24 Illinois (11 a.m., BTN, 100.3-FM) in a game that carries importance in the Big Ten's West Division race.

The Gophers (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) are a half-game behind division leaders Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska, which each have 2-1 conference marks. A Minnesota victory would vault the Gophers ahead of the Fighting Illini and keep them on the heels of Saturday night's Nebraska-Purdue winner in the West standings. Should the Gophers lose, their division title hopes would take a severe hit because both the Boilermakers and Illini would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Before the Gophers can even think about division scenarios, they must show that the mistake-filled performance against Purdue was an aberration. Their miscues basically produced a 17-point swing in the game. They had a pass interference penalty that negated a third-down stop and led to a Boilermakers touchdown instead of a field goal; an unsuccessful fourth-down call from their 29-yard line that gifted Purdue a field goal; a missed 28-yard field-goal attempt; and a would-be TD pass that went through a receiver's hands, off his chest and into a defensive back's hands for an interception.

The good news for the Gophers is that they typically aren't that error-prone and that running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who missed the Purdue game because of an ankle injury, is expected to play. His move-the-chains running style is just what the Gophers need against a rugged Illinois defense.

Here's what I'm looking forward to in this key matchup:

1. Can the Gophers running game get going?

Without Ibrahim, the Gophers rushed for only 47 yards against Purdue, their fewest in seven years. Ibrahim will help, but he'll need a better performance from the Gophers offensive line against an Illinois defense that has allowed only 86 rushing yards total in three Big Ten games. If the Gophers can run effectively, that opens things up in the passing game.

Brown, who ranks second nationally in rushing yards per game with 146.5, is on a streak of seven consecutive 100-yard games. The Gophers know him well after he carried 32 times for 147 yards in the Illini's 14-6 upset of Minnesota last year. The best way to limit his effectiveness is keep him in check on first and second down, forcing the Illini into passing situations. It also would help if Minnesota's offense keeps the ball – and keeps Brown on the sideline.

3. How effective will Illini QB Tommy DeVito be?

Illinois on Saturday morning announced that quarterback Tommy DeVito, who suffered an ankle injury early in last week's 9-6 win over Iowa and missed most of the game, will start against the Gophers. DeVito, a transfer from Syracuse, has been key in the Illini's 5-1 start, passing for 1,163 yards and nine TDs and rushing for three TDs. Backup Artur Sitkowski isn't nearly as elusive as DeVito.