Michigan is suffering from a severe case of fumblitis.
The Wolverines fumbled three times and lost two of them in their rollercoaster 42-25 win at Illinois on Saturday. Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet lost the first one on a 10-yard run after Michigan effortlessly had driven into Illinois territory. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson mishandled a mesh on Michigan’s first snap of the third quarter. On the first snap of the fourth quarter, senior running back Tru Wilson gave the ball to Illinois on U-M’s 36-yard line, which led to the Illini cutting the deficit to three with their 25th unanswered point. Plus, sophomore running back Christian Turner was a down knee away from adding a fourth fumble to the mix.
Charbonnet’s fumble likely cost Michigan at least three points, and Wilson’s fumble handed Illinois eight points. Without those fumbles, Michigan should have maintained a stress-free double-digit lead. With them, Michigan needed to convert a fourth-and-two in the fourth quarter to avoid Illinois having the football with the chance to complete the comeback and take the lead.
What happened in Champaign was not the exception, though. It has been the rule.
