Time for Gophers to go win the Big Ten West

As the Gophers dust themselves off following a tough loss to a better-than-expected Purdue team to open October, they will wake up in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday tasked with getting back on the road to Indianapolis.

The Purdue loss doesn't mean we should think less of these Gophers. They are a flawed but strong and balanced team. A home loss to Purdue typically would require a lowering of expectations. This fall in the Big Ten West: not true.

A ninth West division champion will head to Indy for the Dec. 3 Big Ten championship game. Only Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern have represented the West in that game. It's time for these Gophers to change that. It's time for P.J. Fleck to take this program to that next step.

Yes, there are empty seats in Huntington Bank Stadium (and there will be until the Gophers discount the upper deck). There are odd jersey choices (all black, really?), and odd word choices (P.J. and his lexicon). But this team can play.

The Gophers head to Illinois at 4-1 with a balanced offense, an offensive line that has adequately replaced four starters and a strong defense.

They can win Saturday, and win this division. Iowa and Wisconsin have taken steps back. Especially the Badgers, so humiliated by losing 34-10 at home to Illinois on Oct. 1 that they fired coach Paul Chryst. The Gophers have a couple of big tests on their schedule but none in which they will be a massive underdog.

This is Fleck's sixth year leading the Gophers. He enjoyed a marvelous 2019: 11-2, with a fine Outback Bowl victory over Auburn. But Fleck left meat on the bone that season with a late loss at Iowa during which he dashed onto the field to check on Tyler Johnson following a late hit in the third quarter and got slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That improved Iowa's field position in a game it held on to win 23-19, the first of two losses (Wisconsin being the other) that cost the Gophers the division title.

Last season included several letdowns, including another against Iowa in a game that featured overly cautious play calling from Fleck.

Saturday is a game to show that this program has grown from all this. The Gophers should beat the Illini and head to Happy Valley for their toughest test against Penn State.

Against Illinois, the Gophers will encounter an emerging program under second-year coach Bret Bielema, who has this outfit 5-1 and dreaming big dreams after beating Iowa 9-6 last week to enter the AP poll for the first time since 2011. Illinois' swarming defense will be tuned up to perform as alumni return to campus for homecoming expecting, for a change, to be entertained. And the specter of Bielema's dominance over Minnesota — he is 8-0 against them — will hover over the Gophers.

The X's and O's are fascinating, as Gophers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca has revitalized quarterback Tanner Morgan and the passing game to complement the dangerous running game. Across the field, Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters is considered a head coach of the near future. Running back Chase Brown leads the nation in rushing yards.

Illinois and the Gophers are 1-2 in the nation in scoring defense. The Gophers and Illini are 1-2 in yards allowed. The Showdown in Champaign promises to be a slobberknocker. The difference could be that Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito, who has completed 68.9% of his passes, might miss the game because of an ankle sprain. It's likely why the Gophers are betting favorites on Saturday.

Morgan should make a few key plays with his arm and help the Gophers pull off a narrow victory, spoiling Illinois' 112th homecoming while returning to a path that Fleck has yet to fully navigate: the path to Indianapolis on Dec. 3.