It was one play, but it was a play 30 minutes of football in the making and it showed the dilemma that the Gophers offense creates when functioning at optimal efficiency.
Tanner Morgan connected with Rashod Bateman for a 59-yard completion on the first play of the second half. If football awarded assists, the law firm of Smith&Brooks deserved one for setting ideal conditions for that big pass play to occur.
The abundance of praise directed at the Gophers wide receiver corps the first month of the season was appropriate and well-earned.
Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks proved again Saturday that they aren't too shabby themselves. Nobody should view that dynamic duo as supporting actors.
The senior running back tandem looked like their old selves pre-injury in combining for 322 rushing yards in a 40-17 win over Illinois at TCF Bank Stadium.
"Got to be balanced," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "You have to be balanced to win a lot of games."
The Gophers are capable of dismantling bad teams with a one-dimensional approach, but in order to contend in the Big Ten West in November and for their offense to operate at full capacity, Saturday's game serves as the ideal blueprint.
Ironically, that bomb to Bateman reaffirmed Fleck's insistence that his offense isn't a pass-first showcase of playmakers at receiver but a marriage of run and pass that accentuates the strength of both.