Strange Brew in Minnesota, Ill-chosen Strategy at Illinois

Whoa. I channel-hopped between Ohio State-Illinois and Northwestern-Minnesota. That's one upside to covering a night game.

Although, I prefer covering a day game and watching Pac-10 insanity at night.

Anyway, they were both good games until the final minutes, when coaching really seeped in.

With 4:36 left at Illinois and the Illini down 17-10, facing a 4th-and-7 at the OSU 13, Illinois Coach Ron Zook had his team kick a field goal.

It was good. The Illini didn't get the ball back until they were down 24-13.

The strategy was incomprehensible. Every coach has moments that can be questioned. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz tucked it in late in the fourth quarter at Ohio State last year and settled for overtime, where the Hawkeyes lost.

But you're playing against Ohio State, you're at the OSU 13, time is dwindling, and you kick a field goal that insists you not only make a defensive stop, but score a touchdown? In less than 4:30? Oh boy.

Minnesota had the ball with two minutes left after Northwestern went ahead 29-28. With the exception of one sweet bootleg by Gopher quarterback Adam Weber, Minnesota's final drive was a mess. The plays were guaranteed to waste time. It wasn't anything resembling a two-minute drill.

Tim Brewster's team just finished a four-game homestand with nary a win, and the opposition included South Dakota and Northern Illinois.

Will there be anything left of the Gophers when they close the season at home against Iowa on Nov. 27?

The Hawkeyes have seven formidable conference games in a row, starting tonight against Penn State. The eighth could be as ugly, aesthecially, as Iowa's 55-0 pounding of Minnesota in the Metrodome two years ago.