It played out over time, but the Gophers football team ultimately beat a team coached by Bret Bielema, as it had tovs. No. 24 Illinois 25-17 Saturday in Champaign, Ill., for its sixth win of the season to secure bowl eligibility.

Here are five things that stand out from Minnesota’s performance:

In recent weeks, Minnesota has moved away from its patented run-first offensive style, and Darius Taylor has become more involved as a receiver. Saturday might have been his best performance in a Gophers uniform as he was all over the field with 189 yards from scrimmage.

He had a team-high nine catches for 58 yards through the air and added 131 yards on the ground on 22 carries. The Gophers struggled to consistently connect on deep passes, but Taylor helped the offense move the ball.

Daniel Jackson averaged 9.5 catches and 103 receiving yards in the Gophers’ last two wins against UCLA and Maryland. Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry called him “the most underrated wide receiver in the country” during the week, but they clearly had a good game plan for him. He still finished the day with five catches for 74 yards. Overall, Illinois was very physical with Minnesota’s receivers, and it seemed like it messed up the timing of the entire passing game.

Longtime Gophers starting left guard Tyler Cooper was ruled out before the game due to injury, forcing Minnesota to reshuffle its starting lineup. Instead of moving a backup, they started redshirt freshman Phillip Daniels at right tackle, moved Ashton Beers to left guard and Quinn Carroll to right guard.

In pass blocking, it was an up and down performance as Brosmer was sacked twice, but the run blocking was absolutely terrific. The severity of Cooper’s injury is unknown, but it appears Minnesota has another grader in Daniels.

Max Brosmer was coming off one of the best performances by a Gophers quarterback in some time last week against Maryland. The timing didn’t work between him and the receivers all day, and there wasn’t the same level of explosiveness in the passing game. He was far from his best, but he didn’t force anything and he didn’t turn the ball over. He demonstrated maturity and leadership. The Gophers only needed one drive from him, and he delivered when they needed it.

Minnesota entered this season with a preseason win total of over/under 5.5 games. With three games remaining on the schedule, the Gophers have already surpassed that total with six wins. It’s become a theme for PJ Fleck-led teams to come back from missed opportunities like the North Carolina or Michigan games, but the Gophers have clearly exceeded expectations this season.