Michigan football offense looks completely broken in 21-7 spanking by Illinois

Posted by Admin October 19, 2024 Football

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It was supposed to be now or never for Michigan football off a bye week.

The defending national champions preached urgency, not panic in the week leading up to the game at No. 21 Illinois. Coaches made personnel changes along the offensive line, worked a new game plan around a new starting quarterback, and had some key players return on defense.

Yeah, about that.

Instead of a rejuvenated unit, the No. 22 Wolverines looked awfully similar to the group that saw their 27-game Big Ten winning streak snapped in Seattle a few weeks back. The defense continued to allow big plays and commit penalties. Special teams didn’t flip the field and missed a field goal. The running game wasn’t enough: Kalel Mullings was again great with 19 carries for 87 yards and the lone score, but Donovan Edwards lost a first-half fumble.

The No. 22 Wolverines lost Saturday for the third time this season 21-7 at No. 21 Illinois at Memorial Stadium. Michigan, in Year 1 under head coach Sherrone Moore, will almost certainly fall out of the top 25 college football rankings for the first time in 54 weeks, and will miss the College Football Playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

The Wolverines (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) committed three turnovers, two from an erratic Jack Tuttle in his first start at Michigan, and lost All-American cornerback Will Johnson to a foot injury in the first quarter. Tuttle finished 20-for-32 for 208 yards — boosted by some garbage time completions — and a fourth-quarter interception.

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The passing game once again couldn’t generate anything, and allowed five sacks — the most Michigan has allowed in the past six years — and the pass defense couldn’t come up with timely stops.

Illinois (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) quarterback Luke Altmyer was just 9-for-18 for 80 yards and a touchdown, but the Illini rushed for 187 yards, then rushed the field in their first home ranked win since Oct. 12, 1991 (10-7 over Ohio State) in front of a sellout crowd of 60,670 — the 77th sellout in Memorial Stadium — on its 100-year rededication.

The Wolverines have now lost as many times in the past 42 days as they had in the previous 1,042 days, and will have to try and get off the mat for a rivalry game Saturday when hosting rival Michigan State at Michigan Stadium (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) in Ann Arbor.

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Illinois special teams trickery flips Michigan

Michigan had momentum when the second half started. The Wolverines had taken their final drive of the first half 72 yards on 12 plays, and Mullings hammered in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down to cut the deficit to 13-7 at halftime.

Right when it looked like Illinois would make it a nine-point game going into the half, Makari Paige blocked a field goal. The Wolverines got the ball to begin the second half, but after two short Mullings rushes, TeRah Edwards bulldozed center Greg Crippen on third down and sacked Tuttle.

Michigan’s defense appeared to come up with a timely stop on the ensuing Illinois possession, only for the Illini under head coach Bret Bielema to call the perfectly-timed fake, which went to Tanner Arkin who kept the ball 37 yards up the middle. Five plays later, Altmyer dove in to go up 21-7.

Michigan put together its second solid drive in three possessions, but on third-and goal from the 6, Tuttle was sacked which brought on what felt like an automatic Dominic Zvada field goal. Wrong. It was blocked by Ezekiel Holmes.

Still, Michigan didn’t quit. The defense came up with a stop and the offense got ball back on their own 16 with 13:22 left. Facing fourth-and-18 from the Illinois 44, Tuttle found Colston Loveland on a 29-yard strike to keep the drive alive, but he was easily intercepted by Matt Bailey at the goal line on the next pass attempt.

Sloppy start dooms Michigan vs. Illinois

It didn’t help matters that the Wolverines began about as poorly as possible on offense. After the Illini drove the field on their opening possession and came away with a field goal, coordinator Kirk Campbell’s unit went three-and-out on its opening possession, which featured two incompletions and gained just two yards.

After the two sides exchanged punts, Michigan’s defense made a key play on the next Illinois possession, when Josiah Stewart and Jaishawn Barham combined for a tackle for loss on fourth-and-1 to turn the Illini away at the U-M 21.

But again, the offense sputtered. On third-and-7 in U-M territory, Tuttle avoided the rush, tucked the ball and ran, only to get stripped by Gabe Jacas and lose a fumble for the second time in as many games.

Illinois got down to the Michigan 8 yard line, but Derrick Moore came away with a sack on third down to force another field goal to make it 6-0 late in the first quarter.

Tuttle appeared to throw a dreadful interception on the first play of the next drive which was returned inside the 5-yard line, but U-M was temporarily saved when an Illini defender was flagged for holding away from the play.

U-M had new life, only for Edwards to fumble two plays later. Illinois put together a 7-play, 51-yard drive and finished it when Altmyer found Arkin on a 2-yard touchdown pass to go up 13-0.

That’s when Michigan, finally, did something on offense. The Wolverines opted to ride Mullings on four consecutive carries, picking up 24 total yards and opening up the pass game. Tuttle found Loveland on consecutive passes to pick up 26 yards, and then a screen to Semaj Morgan gained 8 yards.

Mullings ran four of the next five plays which included a one-yard touchdown leap on fourth-and-goal.

But the offense never scored again, the defense could not come up with a takeaway and special teams did not contribute.

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Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.