TheWolverine.com - Staff Predictions: Michigan at Illinois

October 30, 2009

Chris Balas
TheWolverine.com Senior Editor

It's a Halloween spectacular in Champaign this weekend - will the Illini mark the occasion by coming out in all orange uniforms, including the socks and cleats?

We'd say, 'why not?' And throw in green helmets, too ? after all, a season that started with so much promise (and four idiots at TheWolverine.com touting the Illini as a dark horse candidate to win the Big Ten) has already become a laughingstock under head coach Ron Zook (who seems to have that effect on programs).

In short, the Illini have become a debacle, a team in disarray with no chemistry.

But the hatred for Michigan in Champaign is nearly unparalleled, and there's always the concern that the talent will rise up and play to its potential ? that players will decide not to text their fat little girlfriends from the sidelines during the game, or that Zook will take time off from filming Entourage to actually prepare a game plan.

In short, a team that stands 1-3 in the Big Ten with a come from behind home win over Indiana isn't a sure bet to beat anyone, even a team as dysfunctional as Illinois. These next two games, in Champaign and home to Purdue, are the crossroads for this team. Win both and enter the final two games at Wisconsin and home to Ohio State with some momentum at 7-3, and everything is dandy.

Congratulations to Josh Helmholdt, last week's staff predictions winner (which should surprise no one. Josh actually played football for Brian Kelly at Grand Valley for three minutes). This week's winner receives former Illinois basketball coach Lou Henson's toupee to complement any costume ensemble and the remaining 8,000 seats to the Lions' home game with St. Louis to prevent a TV blackout.

The picks:

Chris Balas: Halloween, orange in the uniforms, Ron Zook as head coach ? plenty of evidence there that suggests another nightmarish beatdown for the Illini, assuming the Wolverines can put the squeeze on the (orange) Juice in the running game and decide to cover receivers this week.

Michigan 27, Illinois 20

John Borton: The NCAA has sent Michigan a "Notice of Inquiry" regarding alleged overtime hours put in by the Wolverines. The governing body simply wants to know this: with all that effort expended, what the heck happened against Penn State?

If Michigan doesn't knock off 1-6 Illinois, expect the scope of the examination to widen.

Michigan 31, Illinois 23

Michael Spath: All week, I've followed a theme that has driven my colleagues crazy - the notion that playing on Halloween will elicit some sort of ridiculous performance from both teams as the witches cast their spells and the ghosts and goblins haunt Champaign. What can I say, I'm a giant Halloween nerd, but the only thing scary Saturday should be the costumes.

Michigan 27, Illinois 17

Josh Helmholdt: I predict a Michigan win, and then I predict that Isiah "Juice" Williams and Denard "Shoelace" Robinson convene with Robert "Tate" Forcier at the 50-yard line to discuss a catchier nickname.

Michigan 21, Illinois 20

Matt Pargoff: Michigan hasn't looked good against Big Ten opponents so far this season, but Illinois is just bad. I mean, they are baaaaaaaad. Really, really bad. They haven't beaten an FBS team, and they are scoring an average of 11.3 points per game against that level of competition.

"There are certainly reasons to question how good Michigan is after that Penn State game, but Illinois is just flat out bad. There is no need to overanalyze this.

Michigan 28, Illinois 16

Jonathan Chait: llinois will pick up some big plays on offense but Michigan will gash out consistent yards on the ground. The Wolverines can't continue dropping passes and fumbling the ball constantly, right? Right?

Michigan 38, Illinois 24

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