The 24th-ranked Wolverines are desperate for a victory over a ranked team and the surging Fighting Illini provide just that, but it won’t be easy.
Bret Bielema’s team is off to one of its best starts in years (5-1) and Illinois is expecting a sell-out crowd of more than 60,000 at Memorial Stadium for the game.
The big storyline this week? Seventh-year veteran Jack Tuttle will make his first start in nearly two years, after making his season debut Oct. 5 at Washington. Tuttle not only provided the Wolverines a balanced option at quarterback, but the Michigan offense scored on its first three drives with him behind center.
Can they duplicate that type of success this week in Champaign, or will the bottom fall out of a struggling Michigan pass offense that ranks among the worst in college football?
Here’s a look at the injury report, depth chart and some keys to victory for Michigan.
Injuries
Last week, Michigan ruled out active three starters due to injury, and the believe inside Schembechler Hall is that all three could be available to play Saturday vs. Illinois.
Myles Hinton might be the most important of the group. Michigan’s starting left tackle was also its best offensive lineman through five games and would give the Wolverines a steady hand in protecting Tuttle. Jeff Persi filled in against UW and held his own, but Hinton is clearly the best option at left tackle when healthy.
Not far behind is edge rusher Derrick Moore, who returned to practice on Tuesday and was considered day-to-day for Saturday. We expect him to try and give it a go, providing Michigan another weapon to try and get after Illinois QB Luke Altmyer. Moore may not have the sacks to show for it, but he’s racked up quarterback hurries all season — and there’s hope internally that it could signal a big game for him soon.
Elsewhere along the o-line, Dominick Giudice, who started Michigan’s first five games at center, is a bit more of a mystery. There was talk earlier in the week that he might be available, but head coach Sherrone Moore was beaming about Greg Crippen and the way he played in Seattle.
Reserve linebacker Jimmy Rolder could be close to returning as well, Moore intimated this week.
Reserve cornerback Aamir Hall and running back Jordan Marshall are considered week-to-week.
Depth chart
With Tuttle Michigan’s new starter, where does that leave the backup situation? Sherrone Moore says Alex Orji and Davis Warren are still available, and suggested earlier this week that there may be some hesitation around having Tuttle run the football. “We’ll still have some (plays) with him in there, and we’ve got some cool little packages,” Moore said of Orji. “I’m excited to put those on display.”
Expect to see a healthy dose of Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings at running back. While Mullings may still get the first carries, Edwards seemingly took advantage of the QB switch against UW, rushing for a season-high 95 yards and a touchdown while catching two passes for 23 yards. He plays best when the opposing defense is spread out, creating more run lanes and opportunities to break a big one.
Up front, if everyone is available, this is how we’re expecting the offensive line to look: Myles Hinton at left tackle, Josh Priebe at left guard, Greg Crippen at center and Giovanni El-Hadi at right guard. The only real question mark lies at right tackle, where the winds appear to be shifting with Jeff Persi pushing redshirt freshman Evan Link for more playing time. Persi filled in for Hinton at left tackle against Washington and held up well, giving the Michigan coaching staff more confidence in him to be a viable option at right tackle. A change is possible there.
If edge rusher Derrick Moore is available and plays, expect him to return to the starting lineup, bumping TJ Guy back to his reserve role.
As Michigan works to iron things out in the secondary, the banged-up nature of the group isn’t helping. Its next-in-line cornerback, Aamir Hall, didn’t play against UW and his status for Saturday is unclear, leaving Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry as the obvious choices to start. Hil’s had an up-and-down season while Berry has struggled at times in coverage from his fifth defensive back spot.
Keys to victory
Avoid turnovers. Easier said than done of course, but giveaways have plagued the Michigan offense this season. And just when you thought they going to turn a corner, with just one turnover in the Sept. 28 win over Minnesota and a turnover-free first half at UW, Jack Tuttle coughs it up twice on back-to-back possessions to kill any hope of a Michigan comeback. The Wolverines have a razor-thin margin for error given some of their limitations, and each turnover only lessens their chances of winning. A clean game from Tuttle is badly needed and would go a long way in setting the stage for a victory.
Eliminate the “big” plays. Michigan’s defense has been willing to give up the 10-15 yard pass plays all season, but Washington two weeks ago hit them with three completions of 30-plus yards. It’s hard to win games when you’re giving up big plays like those, especially against an Illinois team that has scored 17 TDs in 25 red-zone appearances this season. When the Illini hit the red zone, they score … and more often than not it goes for 7. Keeping them out of the red zone is ideal, but making them work for it should be first and foremost. Big plays hurt that cause and risk turning this game into a shootout, something Michigan doesn’t want any part of.
Win first down. Kalel Mullings spoke about it earlier this week, but Michigan’s offense has been playing behind the chains for weeks, and a big part of it is because of its ineffectiveness on first and second down. While Mullings (and Edwards to some degree) has been good on first down, his numbers skew heavily toward the first three games with Davis Warren at quarterback. Now with Tuttle behind center and the threat of a pass now entered the equation, teams are going to lighten the box a bit more and open up some opportunities. It’s going to be on Tuttle (he was just 2 of 6 for 12 yards passing on first down vs. UW) and the backs to get ahead of the sticks early and move the football. If they can do that with some form of regularity, and without trouble, it would not only be a welcome sight for Michigan fans but go a long way in walking away with a victory.
