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    • Michigan is out of sorts, falling short at Illinois as the QB conundrum continues
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    Michigan is out of sorts, falling short at Illinois as the QB conundrum continues

    Seren Anwen Posted on

    Champaign, Illinois. — It’s hard to decipher where Michigan is going now. The Wolverines have used three quarterbacks and now have three losses, including two on the road, and it’s questionable how they can avoid the spiral they were trying to avoid.

    The 24th-ranked Wolverines, ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll after a national championship, will be eliminated from the rankings after being subbed and outplayed in a 21-7 loss to 22nd-ranked Illinois on Saturday at Memorial Stadium .

    After losing at Washington two weeks earlier, the Wolverines (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) said they would spend the extra week – they were off last weekend – finding an offensive identity and consistency. They hit the reset button and gave Jack Tuttle the start against the Fighting Illini (6-1, 3-1) after Davis Warren started the first three games and Alex Orji the next three. Tuttle had relieved Orji in the game against Washington and gave the team a spark before two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter.

    A lot went wrong for Michigan against Illinois. The Wolverines had three turnovers, including two fumbles, in the first half. Towards the end of the second half, they scored no points on two long drives, one over 15 plays and almost nine minutes and another over 69 yards in 12 plays and 5:24 minutes.

    BOX Score: Illinois 21, Michigan 7

    Michigan’s nine possessions resulted in three punts, two fumbles, an interception, a blocked field goal, a turnover on downs and a touchdown. For a team that had two weeks to prepare for this game, the offense was woefully lacking. Tuttle was 20 of 32 passing for 208 yards with one interception and one fumble. Running back Donovan Edwards had the other fumble. The highlight was running back Kalel Mullings, who had 87 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Tight end Colston Loveland had 83 yards on seven catches.

    Michigan’s defense, which was without top cornerback Will Johnson for most of the game due to a toe injury suffered during the telecast, was not the weak link in this game, giving up 267 yards of total offense. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer completed nine of 18 passes for 80 yards, ran for 48 yards on 10 carries and had two total touchdowns. He has just one interception this season and was turnover-free against Michigan.

    The Wolverines gained some momentum late in the first half, scoring a touchdown and blocking an Illinois field goal attempt in the final seconds, but opened the second half with a three-and-out and a sack by Tuttle for a 9 completely flat on offense -yard loss on third down. Illinois started its first drive of the third quarter with strong field position starting at the 45-yard line.

    It appeared Michigan’s defense had stopped the Illini when Jaishawn Barham knocked down Altmyer’s pass on third down, leading to fourth-and-7. But the Illini executed a fake punt and Tanner Arkin, who scored in the first half, ran 36 yards to the Michigan 16-yard line. Altmyer would score on a 1-yard run and Illinois would turn the 2-point conversation into a 21-7 lead.

    Trailing by two touchdowns with 9:16 left in the third quarter, Michigan got the ball and rushed 65 yards in 15 plays, but Tuttle was sacked on third-and-six play. This forced a 28-yard field goal attempt by Dominic Zvada, who was 7 of 7 on field goals early in the game. There was a holding issue and the kick was blocked with 27 seconds left in the third period.

    Michigan put together another long drive in the fourth quarter, gaining 69 yards in 12 plays. But after converting a 22-yard pass to Loveland on fourth-and-18, Tuttle scored his second turnover of the game. This time it was an interception with just under eight minutes to go, effectively nullifying any attempt at a comeback.

    When Tuttle first started, he played behind a streamlined offensive line with Jeff Persi at left tackle, Greg Crippen at center and Andrew Gentry making his debut at right tackle. The Wolverines were brutally inefficient in the first half, except for their final possession and their only scoring drive, which put them up 13-7.

    The Wolverines were undermined by two fumbles – one each by Tuttle and Edwards – and five penalties, including a pair of critical pass interferences. They had 80 yards in 16 plays before the scoring drive.

    While Michigan enjoyed a bye the last two weeks following the loss at Washington, the Wolverines’ defense said they focused on limiting explosive plays. Illinois had six pass plays of 15 or more yards and built a 13-0 lead when Altmyer connected with Arkin for a 2-yard score.

    Tuttle’s play was unstable in the first half, and after the shaky start of Michigan’s offense, the Wolverines finally returned to their routine and let Mullings walk. Illinois entered this game having allowed 239 rushing yards in each of its previous two games, and the Wolverines gained ground against the Illini on a 72-yard, 12-play touchdown drive that lasted just over six minutes. Mullings was responsible for eight runs during that drive, including the 1-yard touchdown on fourth down with 1:40 left in the half.

    Illinois tried to add points before halftime, but Makari Paige blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by David Olano with three seconds left. Olano had made field goals of 47 and 32 yards to give Illinois a 6-0 lead.

    Michigan’s adjustments on the offensive line were partly due to injury. Myles Hinton, who started the first five games at left tackle, missed the Washington game and was in uniform at Illinois, but was considered a game-time decision. Crippen started in Washington in place of the injured Dom Giudice, who also wore the uniform at Illinois, and Gentry started in place of Evan Link.

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    Seren Anwen
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