CHAMPAIGN — The No. 24 Michigan football team didn’t cross midfield until there were five minutes left in the first half on Saturday.
With graduate quarterback Jack Tuttle starting for the first time, the Wolverines tried to open up the passing offense for him. But off-target from his first throw onwards, Tuttle missed his receivers on deep shots and short passes alike early, leaving the Wolverines stuck in their own territory.
And as Tuttle and the rest of Michigan’s offense started poorly, the Wolverines dug themselves a hole right away. Michigan (4-3 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) trailed from three minutes into the game onwards, and turned the ball over three times as it fell to No. 22 Illinois (6-1, 3-1), 21-7.
The Wolverines’ defense didn’t have a particularly pristine start, either, giving the Fighting Illini 53 yards on five penalties in the first half. While they managed to keep Illinois out of the end zone on its first three drives, the Illini constantly threatened to score and took an early 6-0 lead on two field goals.
Granted, Michigan’s defense regularly started in poor field position thanks to its offense’s struggles. The worst examples came when Tuttle and senior running back Donovan Edwards fumbled on back-to-back drives in the second quarter. Edwards’ fumble also came just two plays after a brutal Tuttle interception, where he was bailed out by a defensive holding call.
Illinois broke through after Edwards’ fumble as well. Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer drove his team down the field easily, before finishing the drive with a perfect ball to tight end Tanner Arkin in the back corner of the end zone to put Illinois up 13-0.
Michigan found some success by going back to key playmakers in graduate running back Kalel Mullings and junior tight end Colston Loveland, who combined for 63 yards of offense on one drive as the Wolverines tried to respond. Mullings then punched the ball in for a 1-yard score, and Michigan blocked a last-second field goal attempt to enter halftime only down 13-7.
That success was short-lived, though, as the Wolverines soon returned to their sloppy ways.
Michigan lost 6 yards on its first drive of the second half, before giving up 36 yards on a fake punt on the Illini’s next drive. Altmyer snuck the ball into the end zone four plays later, then Illinois completed a two-point conversion to go up two touchdowns. Even the Wolverines’ reliable kicking unit couldn’t get out of its own way as junior kicker Dominic Zvada had a 28-yard chip shot blocked.
Tuttle also looked increasingly uneasy in the pocket as the game wore on — perhaps scared to risk committing another turnover — and took five sacks in the second half. But that caution flew out the window as the Wolverines entered the red zone with eight minutes left in the game, desperately needing to score.
Tuttle underthrew Loveland as he streaked towards the end zone, tossing his second pick in as many games. Michigan never came within 30 yards of scoring again.
And to cap off their undisciplined day, the Wolverines even picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty on a meaningless drive with less than a minute left in the game.
For the Wolverines, the bye week should have been a chance to recover, and fix the little mistakes that plagued them during the first half of the season. But instead, they came out of the bye sloppier than ever, and it left them dominated by the Illini the entire way.
The post Sloppy Michigan falls to Illinois for second-straight loss, 21-7 appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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