| If there is anything as a moral victory, it's an Illinois team going into Michigan Stadium and nearly upsetting undefeated, #3 Michigan, the first team to seriously challenge the Wolverines all season. The problem is when that creates a three game losing streak that saw Illinois drop two games in which they were favored, to fall from division frontrunner to eliminated before the final game started. The Illini offense was surprisingly effective, particularly considering the opponent, and look to continue that this week. Chase Brown was a game time decision, but played, and played well. Tommy DeVito was surprisingly efficient, completing 70% of his passes with a 62 QBR. Both numbers were his best in an Illini loss all season. But most promising was the return to form for a defense that still ranks 3rd nationally in scoring, and 2nd in yardage, but had slipped up in losses to Michigan State and Purdue. Michigan stormed down the field on their first possession, scoring a touchdown in just seven plays, four of which were for double digit yardage. But after that, the unit returned to form, keeping Michigan out of the end zone for the rest of the afternoon. Unfortunately for the Illini, the 4 field goals Michigan tallied were enough. Now they both Nebraska and Indiana to pull massive upsets. Evan Hull has been the lone bright spot for Northwestern this season, and had another 100 yard performance last week at Purdue, despite getting no help anywhere else on the offense. Illinois struggled with Blake Corum in the first half last week, but that's a Heisman candidate running behind the best offensive line in the country. Once just one of those things were removed, Corum due to injury, Illinois shut down the Michigan run game. Michigan's other three backs ran for 42 yards on 15 carries (2.8 ypc), with nearly half of them coming on one 17 yard run. If Northwestern can't keep this Illinois front honest, and I have no idea how they can, Hull should fare about as well as Michigan's backup running backs. If Northwestern does put it in the air, they have to face an Illinois secondary which isn't as good as their front, but is incredibly opportunistic, ranking second in the nation in interceptions, while Northwestern has the second highest interceptions thrown rate in the Big Ten over the past month. |
