The Gophers’ Big Ten winning streak reached four with a 25-17 win at No. 24 Illinois State.

“He has the green light to do it, and that’s my call to give him the green light,” Fleck said. “I could have easily turned on the red light, but I didn’t. … Obviously it didn’t work.”

Suddenly down by one point, the Gophers quickly responded with a 75-yard touchdown run for a 22-17 lead. Key to this was Brosmer’s perfect deep pass to Daniel Jackson, which added 37 yards to 38 yards. From first position and in a push formation, Brosmer rolled to his right and found an open Gears for the go-ahead.

“It was one of those times where PJ says, ‘What are we going to do?’ I just wanted to make sure I heard correctly,” Fleck said, recalling a conversation with his assistants wearing headphones.

After Gears’ goal, the Gophers failed to convert the two-point goal. Their defense, however, made two big stops: one led to Kesich’s fourth field goal and the other sealed the win when Jah Joyner sacked Altmaier, forcing a QB fumble, and Danny Striggow recovered at the Minnesota 27 with 29 seconds left.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, and you don’t usually see it all in one season,” said Striggow, a senior. “I’m truly grateful for that… that I have something to learn from and it’s helping us right now.”