What They're Saying: Michigan Wolverines Football 42, Illinois 25
A look around the internet and what they're saying about the Michigan Wolverines after a 42-25 win over Illinois Saturday:
Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com: Notes, Quotes & Observations From Michigan's 42-24 win
There were a lot of good plays, but the 42 points … well, two of those touchdowns were set up by a fumble returned to the 1-yard line and a Jordan Glasgow-blocked punt inside the 10. Most of them came in the first half and then in the fourth quarter, sandwiched around a ridiculous third quarter in which they managed only 11 total yards.
That's when Michigan appeared to decide 28 was enough and stunk up the joint to the tune of 114 yards to 11 in favor of the Illini in the third, and it became a ball game with 30 seconds left in the stanza when Illinois drove and scored to make it 28-17.
It started once again with sloppy ball security when the senior quarterback Patterson put the first ball of the second half on the ground (again), unforced. A four-yard loss, a punt after a minute and a half and a drive-ender into the wind after another poor throw on the slant that probably should have been picked off started the Illinois comeback.
That made it harder than it should have been, cost the backups some playing time and still left us with no answer to the biggest question:
Is this team improving, and can it beat the better teams on the schedule?
For while the defense had its moments, especially late, the offense too often plays like a group of strangers: uncertain, uncomfortable, unable to hold onto the football.
U-M fumbled three more times against Illinois, making that 17 fumbles on the season. Patterson dropped the ball early but recovered it. The other two, by running backs Zach Charbonnet and Tru Wilson, were lost.
How all this translates as the season moves forward — hello, Penn State — can't be a fun question to consider after watching these Wolverines the past seven weeks.
If Illinois can do this, what on earth will the Nittany Lions do next week in Happy Valley?
This is a confounding team. A week ago, at home against Iowa — a much better outfit than Illinois — U-M played with a kind of controlled rage defensively. While they struggled offensively, part of that could be explained away by the Hawkeyes’ formidable front seven.
Well, Illinois has no such thing. Which explains why the Wolverines pushed them off the line of scrimmage for much of the first half. But doesn’t explain why they couldn’t keep doing that.
Think about it this way: U-M amassed almost 300 yards rushing Saturday yet needed a drive midway through the fourth to ice the game.
Aaron McMann, MLive: Michigan football’s curious case of the fumbles is not going away
The problem seemed to have retreated in recent weeks, though that very well could have been just coincidence.
While Michigan had not lost a fumble in the previous two games, wins over Rutgers and Iowa, they were still dropping the football. That carried over again to Saturday, a 42-25 win over Illinois in which the 16th-ranked Wolverines fumbled the ball three times, losing it twice.
That brings Michigan’s fumble count this season to 17, and fumbles lost to nine. The team entered the weekend with the fourth-most in the country. And head coach Jim Harbaugh brought them up, unprompted, in his post-game news conference.
“I’ve got to look at them,” Harbaugh said. “I know I saw the one with Zach (Charbonnet), as he was going down and maybe just put his foot down on the ground and got hit off to his side. Keep coaching it, keep learning.”
The fumble by Charbonnet that Harbaugh mentioned was the first of the game for Michigan (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) and first from [him] this season. The Wolverines found success moving the football that drive, starting out at their own 1-yard line before moving past midfield.
But on a handoff to Charbonnet, the ball came out of his hands on contact as he passed the 40. The Michigan defense was able to force Illinois into a three-and-out, nullifying one of the turnovers.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was confident that when the Wolverines needed a big play Saturday, quarterback Shea Patterson would deliver.
Illinois had scored 25 unanswered points to pull within 28-25 in the third quarter on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, and Michigan started its next possession from its own 21-yard line. Facing 4th and 2, Patterson got the call to make the conversion and extend the drive. He delivered with a 4-yard run to the Illinois 9-yard line.
“Just trusted the play call,” Patterson said.
Two plays later, he connected with Donovan Peoples-Jones for a 5-yard touchdown.
The 16th-ranked Wolverines defeated Illinois 42-25, overcoming the scare and improving to 5-1, 4-1 Big Ten.
“A touchdown would have beat us, so wanted to give our offense a chance to make a two-score game,” Harbaugh said, explaining why he chose to go for it on fourth down. “Lost a game once like that in my past — I did kick the field goal.
“This time we put the ball in Shea Patterson’s hands. He’s tenacious in those kinda situations and those kinda big moments. Felt really good he could pick it up for us. The offense was hungry to do it. Made the decision to go for it on that fourth down, and the guys came through.”
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com: What The Week 7 Results Mean
The Wolverines were able to get the offense on track against Illinois in the first half, putting up 355 yards. The second half was a different story, though, as the offense stalled in the third quarter and the defense gave up 25 unanswered points. Turnovers continue to be a problem, with two lost fumbles, something that has hampered this team all season. Michigan needed a confidence booster, but the second half showed some flaws in this team that now has to get through Penn State on the road, followed by Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State to finish out this season. If Michigan is going to have a chance to win those games, it'll need the offense to carry its own weight and not rely on the defense to win games.
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