six sacks. But he made a number of clutch throws -- no

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- On a windy Illinois afternoon that made passing an adventure, Minnesota knew it would need to run the ball if it wanted to pocket a win.But the Golden Gophers figured they might have to run a little farther than they did to beat the Illinois.A pair of early Illinois turnovers and a short punt gave Minnesota the ball at the Illinois 49-, 20- and 9-yard lines, and the Gophers turned each into a touchdown on the way to a 40-17 win.Rodney Smith did the bulk of the damage, rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Shannon Brooks added 59 yards and a score on a dozen carries.Smiths first touchdown was a 20-yard burst up the middle with 2:16 left in the first quarter, giving Minnesota (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) the lead for good at 14-7. It followed a fumbled punt by Illinois Darius Mosely, recovered by Antione Winfield Jr. at the 20.We love to see that because were pretty good in the red zone, said Brooks, who added that those turnovers built momentum for Minnesota and robbed Illinois of energy. Yeah, definitely. Thats a stab, a stab in the back. That hurts.The turnovers, Illinois coach Lovie Smith said, swung the game hard and early for Minnesota.Its hard to win the football game when you start like that, Smith said. Those turnovers put us in a hole.Jeff George Jr., Illinois (2-6, 1-4) third-string quarterback and the son of Illini legend and longtime NFL quarterback Jeff George, started his second straight game and went 16-34 for 156 yards and a touchdown.Illinois starter Wes Lunt suited up but sat out his third straight game with a back injury. Second-string quarterback Chayce Crouch, who injured a shoulder in a win over Rutgers two weeks ago, is out for the season after having surgery Monday, Smith confirmed.Illinois receiver Malik Turner left the field on a stretcher in the first half after a hit by Minnesota safety Duke McGhee. Turner was taken to a local hospital but was back in the locker room before the end of the game, Smith said, though further information about his injury was not available.It was terrifying. It was emotional, especially with a kid like that who works so hard, to see a tragic injury like that, Smith said.McGhee was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game.THE TAKEAWAYMinnesota: The Gophers get what in the end turned into a blowout win, a little payback for a loss at Illinois two years ago and guarantee themselves bowl eligibility. But they struggled for three quarters to put away a limited Illini team. While some players acknowledged celebrating a bit, Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys downplayed the significance of being bowl eligible. He said his team still hopes to find a way to the Big Ten title game. And he said he never worried that Illinois was hanging around longer than hed like.I never really felt uncomfortable as long as we had a lead, Claeys said.Illinois: Even if Lunt had played theres no guarantee Illinois would be better off with him than George. Turner has been Illinois only real receiving threat this season. Illinois needs its defense, which Smith has called the strength of the team, to create the kind of turnovers that gave the Gophers short fields Saturday.INTO THE WINDMinnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner and his receivers struggled with the wind. The senior was 10-19 for 112 yards, and the 20 mph gusts didnt help, Claeys said.It was big. It hurt the passes toward the sidelines, the coach said,McGHEES HITClaeys said after the game that hits like the one that led to McGhees ejection are difficult to avoid.When those guys are going down that low, its hard, he said. I hate to tell them to go down to the legs all the time. Weve got to stay below the shoulders.THANKFULLikely no one was happier to be spending Saturday in Champaign than Minnesota linebackers coach Mike Sherels. He tweeted Friday, his 32nd birthday, that this one is special because I almost didnt make it. Sherels spent much of August being treated for what has only been described as a serious digestive problem that required multiple surgeries. He rejoined the team in early October.UP NEXTMinnesota: Minnesota has a good shot at win No. 7 next Saturday when it faces Purdue at home.Illinois: The Illini get a second straight home game, hosting a Michigan State team thats down but still considerably stronger that Illinois.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPAssociated Press college football coverage: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ 2018 Nike Vapor Max Plus . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Nike Vapormax Plus White . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. http://www.vapormaxplus.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Nike Vapor Max Plus Triple Black .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Nike Vapor Max Plus . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. NEW ORLEANS -- Broncos safety Darian Stewart was in the right place at the right time, as Denver defenders often seem to be.Shutting down quarterback Drew Brees for four quarters was always going to be a tall order, particularly with starting quarterback Aqib Talib and starting defensive end Derek Wolfe injured. Still, Denvers dynamic defense produced four pivotal turnovers in a wild 25-23 victory over the previously surging Saints on Sunday.The Saints offense is real tough and we knew that coming in, said Stewart, who had two interceptions and a fumble recovery . We had a lot of guys out injured, which only made the challenge more difficult. But we had a lot of guys who stepped in and made contributions. That was huge.The game ultimately was decided in the unlikeliest of ways. Denver rookie Justin Simmons blocked a potential go-ahead, extra-point kick by New Orleans Wil Lutz, and rookie teammate Will Parks grabbed the loose ball, returning it 84 yards for a defensive 2-point conversion with 1:28 left in the game.Yet New Orleans might never have relinquished its 17-10, second-half lead if not for two fumbles forced by Denvers defense.The Broncos, who entered the game with the top-rated pass defense in the NFL, intercepted Brees twice in the first half.Stewart made his first interception by anticipating Brees throw down the left sideline and cutting in front of intended target Travaris Cadet at the Denver 9-yard line. The second came when Stewart snagged a pass ripped from rookie receiver Michael Thomas grasp by defensive back Bradley Roby.In the fourth quarter, Stewart once again found a ball landing in his lap when Roby punched the ball away from Thomas after a reception over the middle.Thats a play we work on, Roby said of his strip. In that situation, you have to say to yourself, `Youve got to go for the ball.Denver converted that turnover into Demaryius Thomas game-tying touchdown.Then came defensive end Jared Cricks crushing tackle of Thomas that forced another fumble, recovered by T.J. Ward to set up a field goal which put Denver ahead 23-17 with just under 3 minutes left.Those plays helped Denver overcome Brees NFL-record 56th game with at least 300 yards and three TDs passing.The four turnovers, they cost us the game, Brees said. It made it a lot closer than it probably should have been.Heres what else stood out in Denvers victory over the Saints:PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Simmons said Denver had picked up on some of the Saints place-kicking tendencies and figured they might be able to block a kick by having a player hurdle the offensive line.dddddddddddd Simmons said the Broncos worked on the play, called Leaper, all week.Its something you work on all the time, Denver coach Gary Kubiak said. Its risky to do because if you touch somebody, its a penalty. There are certain situations in a game where you say it is worth the risk, and this was one of them.ELITE BREES: Brees passed for 303 yards with touchdowns on a 32-yard pass to Brandin Cooks , as well as 3- and 5-yard tosses to Willie Snead. He did it against a Broncos defense that entered the game allowing just 183.3 yards passing per game. Who knows what kind of numbers Brees might have had it three drives werent stalled by turnovers in which the ball was knocked from Michael Thomas hands?MIXED BAG: The Broncos are still living with quarterback Trevor Siemians rookie mistakes. He threw two interceptions and didnt seem to see cornerback Sterling Moore jumping the route on the first or Kenny Vaccaro standing right in the balls path on the second. He also took six sacks. But he made a number of clutch throws -- not just on his TD passes of 14 yards to Jordan Taylor and 2 yards to Demaryius Thomas. He also completed a slew of drive-extending throws and the Broncos converted 11 of 19 third downs.BETTER BLOCKING: Two of Denvers best pass rushers -- Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware -- were held without a sack by a Saints offensive line that was missing starting left tackle Terron Armstead. Andrus Peat took over for Armstead, sliding over from left guard, and Senio Kelemete took Peats guard spot. Denver, which came in with 28 sacks, managed just one on Brees, by linebacker Shaquil Barrett.QB PRESSURE: New Orleans ramped up its pass rush in a big way. The Saints had 11 sacks in their first eight games, but six different defenders got a sack apiece on Siemian: rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, end Cameron Jordan, safety Kenny Vaccaro and linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Craig Robertson.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '