Lovie Smith praises Minnesota's offense ahead of matchup: 'It'll be a challenge for us'

Illinois is 2-2 overall through five weeks of the season and has lost its last two games.

Week 6 may not be what Illinois needed, as the Fighting Illini are having to travel to play a 4-0 Minnesota team. The Golden Gophers may not be blowing teams out, but their offense has shown recently that it is capable of putting up big points.

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In Minnesota’s last game, the Gophers went to Purdue and won 38-31. Lovie Smith and the Fighting Illini’s defense have a tall task ahead of itself.

On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Smith talked up the Gophers’ offense:

#illini Lovie: Minnesota has an offensive scheme they believe in. This past week, their QB played outstanding ball. Good skill guys. Two good receivers. TEs are good. Big OL. It'll be a challenge for us.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) September 30, 2019

#illini Lovie: Minnesota WRs are bigger. They've made plays on 50/50 balls and one-on-ones. Made big plays in close games. They played well against us last year.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) September 30, 2019

Smith brought up that the Minnesota wide receivers are taller pass-catchers. The Illini defensive backs will have to use every ounce of their athleticism to be successful after giving up 42 points to Nebraska two weeks ago.

Game time for Illinois-Minnesota is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on BTN.