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    Michigan football completely broken in 21-7 thrashing by Illinois

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    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It was now or never a bye week for Michigan football.

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

    Yes, about that.

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

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

    The Wolverines 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 poor time completions – and an interception in the fourth quarter and Kalel Mullings rushed for 87 yards and a score on 19 carries.

    The passing game once again failed to deliver, allowing five sacks – the most Michigan has allowed in the last 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 and then rushed down the field in their first win over the home rankings since October 1. August 12, 1991 (10-7 over Ohio State) in front of a sellout crowd of 60,670 – the 77th sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium – during the 100th anniversary rededication.

    The Wolverines (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) have lost as many times in the last 42 days as they had in the previous 1,042 days, and will have to try to get off the mat for a rivalry game Saturday when they host rival Michigan State in Michigan Stadium (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) in Ann Arbor.

    RESPONSE: Michigan football torn apart by CBS analysts, fans over ‘pathetic’ showing against Illinois

    Illinois special teams trickery confuses Michigan

    Michigan had momentum as the second half started. The Wolverines took their final drive of the first half 72 yards on 12 plays and Mullings hammered in a one-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to six.

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

    Michigan’s defense appeared to arrive in time with a stop on the ensuing Illinois possession, only for Bret Bielema to call the perfectly timed fake, which went to Tanner Akin who kept the ball up the middle for 37 yards. Five plays later, Altmyer dug in and went up 21-7.

    Even then, not all hope was lost. Michigan scored its second solid drive in three possessions, but on third and goal from the six, Tuttle was sacked, setting up an automatic Dominic Zvada field goal. Wrong. It was blocked by Ezekiel Holmes to keep UM at 14.

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

    A sloppy start threatens Michigan vs. Illinois

    It didn’t help that the Wolverines started off as poorly as possible on offense. After the Illini controlled the field on their opening possession and came away with a field goal, Kirk Campbell’s unit went three and out on their opening possession, which featured two incompletions and gained only two yards.

    After the two sides traded points, Michigan’s defense played a key role on Illinois’ next possession, as Josiah Stewart and Jaishawn Barham combined for a tackle for loss on fourth-and-1 to turn the Illini away from the UM 21.

    But again, the offense would sputter. On third-and-7 in UM territory, Tuttle avoided the rush and stuffed the ball and ran only to be stripped by Gabe Jacas and lose a fumble for the second time in as many games. But again, the defense would hold up.

    Illinois reached the Michigan 8-yard line, but Derrick Moore came away with a sack on third down and forced another field goal to go up 6–0 late in the first quarter.

    Tuttle appeared to throw an interception on the first play of the next drive that was returned to the goal line, but UM was temporarily saved when an Illini defender was flagged for blocking the play.

    UM had new life, only for Donovan Edwards to fumble two plays later and give it back to Illinois, which put together a 7-play, 51-yard drive and finished it when Luke Altmyer found Tanner Arkin on a two-yard touchdown pass to 13- 0 rise.

    Then Michigan finally did something on offense. The Wolverines opted to run their workhorse Mullings on four straight carries, picking up a total of 24 yards and opening up the passing game, allowing Tuttle to find Loveland on consecutive passes to pick up 26 yards and then setting a screen to Semaj Morgan , which won eight.

    UM would run Mullings on four of the next five plays, including a one-yard touchdown run on fourth down and a goal to put Michigan on the board. The Wolverines then kept the momentum going into intermission when Makari Paige hit a field goal attempt on the final play of the second quarter.

    Make “Hail yes!” your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

    Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

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