CHAMPAIGN — Directly following the No. 24 Michigan football team’s gutting 21-7 loss to No. 22 Illinois, the Wolverines were unusually candid in their emotional press conference.
After a performance in which Michigan put up its fewest points in a decade, there was far less hemming and hawing about complimentary football and needing improvement in ‘all three phases.’ Instead, Michigan’s coach Sherrone Moore, graduate quarterback Jack Tuttle and graduate running back Kalel Mullings were all quite direct in terms of what the Wolverines’ Achilles heel had been — their stagnant offense.
“It was bad,” Mullings said of the offense. “Seven points is unacceptable. That’s terrible. And as an offense we know that, and we understand that we have to be better and can’t win a football game scoring seven points. I don’t know, I’ve never done that in my life. I don’t know who can do that.”
Normally it isn’t so simple. Against Washington two weeks ago, Michigan’s offense was stagnant, but its defense left chunk yardage on the table and couldn’t secure good field position. In September against No. 1 Texas, a full scale breakdown in all facets of the game led to an ugly loss to the Longhorns. But Saturday night in Champaign, none of that was the case. Although the Wolverines’ defense wasn’t perfect, over and over again it gave Michigan’s offense a chance to take control. But behind Tuttle — it never could.
“I mean if it ain’t obvious enough, it’s the offense,” junior tight end Colston Loveland said of the Wolverines’ problems. “The defense is doing their thing, we’ve just gotta score. They’re holding them to field goals, blocking field goals. They’re doing everything they can, just gotta figure it out.”
From the very start of the contest, that dynamic was present. On the game’s first drive, Michigan’s defense held the Illini to a long field goal. And on the next two defensive drives, the Wolverines forced a punt and a turnover on downs.
But while Michigan’s defense prevented major breakdowns, its offense’s lack of ball security opened doors for Illinois that the Wolverines couldn’t shut. On back-to-back drives, Michigan fumbled — first on its own 38 and then on the Illini’s 49. And gifted short field, Illinois capitalized, punching in 10 points in the first half off of turnovers
“The defense, they were great and we put them in bad positions all the time,” Tuttle said. “Like one unit was out there today that showed grit the whole game, and the other two gotta be better, and it starts with us. Can’t turn over the ball, obviously, and put them in bad situations.”
But more than the three ugly turnovers the Wolverines gave the Illini throughout the game, what truly doomed Michigan’s offense was the fact that it couldn’t muster points. In all sorts of ways, the Wolverines shot themselves in the foot. With their two three-and-outs, two five-plus minute drives that netted zero points and even with their first missed field goal of the year that was blocked after a bobbled snap, they never could make their own luck.
“We were moving the ball, we need to score,” Tuttle said bluntly. “It’s as simple as that.”
That much was true, Michigan moved the ball more than Illinois — but that was more a product of its stout defense than genuine offensive success. All game, even the Wolverines’ generally weaker pass-defense kept the Illini in check as quarterback Luke Altmyer managed just 80 yards. But that defense that contained Altmyer, limited Illinois to just two touchdowns and prevented explosive plays wouldn’t be enough to will points onto the board for the offense.
Amid a season of going back to the drawing board with three quarterbacks, a revamped offensive line and a new running back one, Saturday’s loss was enough to show that the Wolverines will again have to reevaluate their offense. Illinois gave them chances to win, their defense forced them into opportunities and good field position — and sometimes, they even drove far enough to be within throwing distance of the end zone.
But over and over again, even when Michigan’s defense gave everything it could, the offense came up short, and they knew it. With their fewest points in a decade, the Wolverines’ offense failed to capitalize on the opportunities their defense provided. And with their first three loss season since 202, the Wolverines’ offense will go back to the drawing board — again.
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