As expected, Illinois was no match for No. 3 Michigan, as the Wolverines took a big first half lead and cruised to a 41-8 win. Michigan improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) on the season. The Illini fall to 2-5 overall (1-3 Big Ten).
Playing without injured quarterbacks Wes Lunt and Chayce Crouch, redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr. got his first career start and had a rough outing, completing just 4 of 14 passes for 95 yards. All but 9 of those yards came on long completions to junior wide receiver Malik Turner.
Illinois finally got on the board in the 4th quarter. After Michigan bobbled the snap on a fake punt, the Illini took over at the Woverines 43-yard line. On the next play, George rolled out of the pocket and connected deep to Turner, who made an acrobatic catch and cruised into the end zone.
Michigan outgained Illinois 562 yards to 172. The Wolverines led the nation in total defense heading into the game, yielding just 212.8 yards per game and a remarkable 3.58 yards per offensive play. Michigan had 28 first downs to just 6 first downs for the Illini.
Illini linebacker Tre Watson was ejected for targeting on a fourth quarter hit of Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight. Watson will now miss the first half next week vs. Minnesota.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
With 7:52 remaining in the first quarter, junior quarterback Wilton Speight connected over the middle to tight end Tyrone Wheatley for a 21-yard touchdown. Michigan took a 14-0 lead, and the Illini were out of it early. The worst thing that can happen in this type of mismatch is for the superior team to get a hot start. Illinois needed to make something happen in the first quarter and build some confidence, but it was not to be.
DOMINANT IN THE MIDDLE
Defending the middle is important in most sports; baseball, soccer. Even chess. Michigan picked apart the Illini’s defense between the hashes, with receivers running wide open on the short crossing routes and the deep middle behind the linebackers. The Cover-2 scheme puts a lot of pressure on the linebackers and safeties, and Illinois doesn’t really have the athletes to make it work. Hardy Nickerson is a stat stuffer against the run, but isn’t great in pass coverage. The Illinois DB’s give a lot of cushion.
UNDERCLASSMEN GAIN EXPERIENCE
Looking for something positive? Numerous youngsters saw significant playing time against the Wolverines. That’s valuable as Lovie Smith has an eye on the future. True freshmen or redshirt freshman who saw action include DB Stanley Green, WR Dominic Thieman, DT Kenyon Jackson, RB Reggie Corbin, QB Jeff George Jr., DB Patrick Nelson, CB Frank Sumpter, DT Jamal Milan, and OL Gabe Megginson. Throw the record out at this point and build for the future. Getting thrown into the fire in the Big House is baptism by fire, but it will pay off.
ILLINOIS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Malik Turner, wide receiver. Turner had just 2 catches on the day, but he made the most of them. George connected on passes to Turner of 45 and 43 yards, the second one going for a touchdown. Turner leads the Illini with 31 receptions on the season for 427 yards.
ILLINOIS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Stanley Green, free safety. The Illini secondary struggled against the passing game, but Green, like fellow freshman Patrick Nelson, is emerging as a hard hitter against the run. Green finished with a career high 11 tackles, including 7 solo stops.
