Terry Hawthorne returned an interception for a touchdown and Clay Nurse had four of Illinois' seven sacks to lead the Illini to a 35-32 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.

Jacob Charest threw for 185 yards and a touchdown after replacing Juice Williams, who left in the first quarter with an injured left ankle. Illinois (3-6, 2-5 Big Ten) led 28-7 at halftime.

Jon Hoese scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Minnesota (5-5, 3-4). Gophers linebacker Keanon Cooper blocked a punt that Ben Kuznia scooped up for a score to pull Minnesota within three points with 3 minutes to play.

The ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, and the Gophers couldn't overcome a dreadful first half from quarterback Adam Weber.

Weber went 5 of 17 for 74 yards with a fumble and the interception returned for a score in the first half against Illinois.