Location: Big House
Weather: 52 and No Rain
TV: BTN
Line: Michigan -39
Remember when it always seemed Michigan missed the Big Ten teams that were having a seriously down year? Mostly, when Michigan was having a down year and we needed wins for bowl eligibility.
I think the scheduling gods made up for all those misses with this years schedule. On the flip side, the only way we see #8 Nebraska would be in the Big 10 Championship game. (Nebraska is at OSU on 11/5 for those looking ahead) Illinois is trying to rebuild and played Rutgers last week to a 24-7 win. That win came after 4 straight losses.
Tale of the Tape
Michigan vs. Illinois = Pain
Michigan beat Rutgers 78-0 on the road two weeks ago. Illinois and Lovie Smith are a step up from Rutgers but not a big step. I think Lovie has a really good chance of turning Illinois around in 4-5 years. Lovie is a solid hire and a huge step up from Tim Beckman. On a positive note, Illinois did lose to Nebraska 31-16 a couple of weeks ago. That score isn't a complete blowout.
Illinois will try to win this game on defense. They of course play a Tampa 2 type of defense and will try to pressure Wilton into making mistakes. That is the only chance they have in this match-up.
Consider leaving early if...............................
- Michigan's RB's have another huge day and even Smith gets over 100 yards.
- Wilton looks fresh and better after a week off
- Michigan defense pitches a shut out again
- Everybody is healthy
- Michigan has over looked this game
- Wilton struggles under pressure
- This game is closer then it should be
This game is really a miss-match anyway you look at it. Its a 40 point line with some books in Vegas. Michigan is rested and looking forward to a trip an hour north next weekend. The one thing we need to continue to see is improved QB play. I'm not sure we have strong enough QB play right now to beat Ohio State in Columbus or someone like Alabama/Clemson in the playoffs. I hope John O'Korn gets a ton of snaps, as he is one play away from being the starter. It would be great for Peppers to get a couple highlights in and then rest for the second half.
Michigan 48 Illinois 3
from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2016/10/illinois-preview.html
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