Illinois Preview

What a great win last week. Talk about two different feelings in about 4 hours, the first half you think Michigan won't win a game left on their schedule then in the second half you start having un-realistic dreams of the Rose Bowl.

Well, as Rich says enjoy a win for 24 hours then move on to your next opponent. On to Illinois..................

Michigan in the past has had trouble with athletic QB's that can run and throw. Juice is that prototypical dual threat QB that can beat you with his feet and sometimes with his arm. This team went to C-Bus last year and beat a top ranked Buckeye team. Then the bottom fell out, they got embarrassed in the Rose Bowl by USC, start the year by getting beat by Mizzu, eat a few cupcakes, and then get beat by Penn State last week, in a game that wasn't very close.

Michigan beat Illinois last year with similar personnel on Defense, but the Offense had point makers like Henne, Hart, Manningham, and Long. This game can not become a shoot out if Michigan thinks they are going to win, the Michigan Defense needs to hold The Juice and company to the low 20's.

Key's for the Game:

Does Juice get loose? #1 key for the Michigan defense is to not lose contain on Juice Williams, he can easily take 3rd and 7 and make a first down with his feet. The only real threat at WR is Arrellious Benn and the other wide outs are pretty average. With Juice's scrambling ability, Michigan's DB's will have to stay in coverage for a long time and the Michigan line will have to keep pressure on him and hit him a lot. In the option, make Juice pitch the ball and get a helmet on him everytime.

Michigan Defensive Line: Pressure all day. Juice won't be an easy target, but the Defensive line will be able to get a push against a weak Illinois Offensive line. They can't miss opportunities to get a sack or he will find an open WR or kill Michigan with his feet.

Where oh where is shadow, where can shadow be? My feeling is Jonas Mouton is going to spy Juice most of the day from his LB role. He seems to have the speed and athleticism needed to keep up with the Juice.

Can Michigan score? Michigan is going to need points, lots of points in this one. They can't give up possessions with 3 and outs and turnovers. Michigan needs to continue to move the ball against a below average defense. Even cupcakes have scored on the Illinois defense, Michigan needs to as well.

Tale of the Tape:

Michigan Oline vs Illinois Dline: no push either way (zing!)

Michigan DLine vs Illinois OLine: Michigan Advantage

QB Play: Illinois Advantage

Running Backs: Michigan

WR Play: Push

Special Teams: Illinois (until Michigan can catch the ball or return a kick with out a fumble)

Time in the Spread: Illinois (didn't help them last week)

Intangibles: Michigan coming off a big win, Zook and Crew coming off a big loss

Overall Prediction:

Michigan needs to pass to open up the run, but Illinois's Dline and LB's are average at best. Still Michigan's Offense has shown an ability to hurt themselves with silly mistakes or not executing at all. Michigan needs long drives to keep The Juice off the field.

On Defense, Michigan needs to force the Juice to beat him with his arm. He is not known as a strong passer but has been getting better, if he runs wild like he did against OSU, Michigan is in for a long day. There is no doubt about it, the Michigan Defensive Line has to dominate for a Michigan win - Dominate!

I think it really comes down to who can execute their offense better. Michigan has a better D, but they can't be on the field all day against a decent spread team. These type of offense's have been giving Michigan fits for years (I know they see it in practice everyday now). My gut tells me that the Juice will light up the scoreboard and even though Illinois's Defense is not grand, Michigan will do something stupid and won't be able to keep up in a shoot out. The fact remains, that one team has been running the spread for years, the other is in its 5th game. (I hope I'm wrong on this one and that Illinois still has a "hang over" from their Happy Valley beat down)

Michigan 21 Illinois 31

Go Blue!