Michigan is back off the bye and heading on the road to Champaign to take on Illinois.
The Wolverines will turn to Jack Tuttle as starter for the first time, their third starting quarterback in seven games this season.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was emotional this week when discussing the game and how badly he wants to beat Michigan.
Michigan has played below expectations so far this season, while Illinois has been better than expected. However, the Wolverines are coming in with a week of rest, and the Illini are looking to bounce back from a 50-49 OT win over a bad Purdue team.
These are the three players to watch in Illinois vs Michigan.
Luke Altmyer
I did not expect this from Luke Altmyer.
The Ole Miss transfer completed 64% of his passes last season for Illinois but was not efficient. Only 1,800 yards on 270 attempts and only 13 touchdown passes with ten interceptions. Altmyer has already thrown for 14 touchdowns this season with only one interception.
Altmyer has been lights out on deep throws, completing 50% with 393 yards and five touchdowns.
But there's a number to watch here. Despite throwing only one interception, Altmyer has nine turnover worthy plays this season. That is not a sustainable ratio and while luck may have been on his side to start the season, Michigan should have a chance to force interceptions with their pass rush. Will Michigan's secondary finally put together a complete game?
Pat Bryant
Doubling down here, it will come down to the passing game.
Bielema will want to establish the run, but they have not been very good against better opponents, and Michigan's rush defense is still stout. Michigan needs to not get beat by their opponent's best receiver, this week that will be Pat Bryant.
He is not the most targeted receiver for Illinois, but he has the most yards and finds the end zone. At 6'3" 200lbs he is a bigger outside receiver which has been giving the Wolverines fits. Bryant is 4 for 5 on contested targets this season, meaning he's winning 50/50 battles with corners.
Bryant has two hot spots Michigan should work to take out of the game. On shorter and intermediate throws, Bryant does 80% of his damage between the hash marks, finding gaps in zone coverage. When it comes to deep throws, look out if he's lined up to the right. Roughly a quarter of all of Bryant's targets are deep shots to the right. He has six receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns on those targets. Ideally, Will Johnson is on Bryant for most of the day but Makari Paige is going to have to have a better day as the overtop safety.
Xavier Scott
Cornerback Xavier Scott has been boom or bust at times for Illinois this season, and whether or not he has a good day will have a big impact on what Jack Tuttle and the passing game are able to accomplish.
Scott has a team high three interceptions on the season, along with two pass breakups. He's also allowed three touchdowns and is giving up a 68% catch rate at and average of 10.2 yards per catch.
Scott will split time almost evenly in the slot and on the outside. At this point, who knows which Michigan wide receiver would be tasked with getting and edge over Scott. My gut would be Tyler Morris, but he simply has not been used as expected this season. Maybe Fred Moore or Amorion Walker who have flashed separation get more reps this week? Either way, Michigan needs to find a way to beat Scott, otherwise he will beat them.
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