Michigan is out of sorts, falling short at Illinois as the QB conundrum continues

Champaign, Illinois. — It's hard to decipher where Michigan is going now. The Wolverines have used three quarterbacks and now have three losses, including two on the road, and it's questionable how the Wolverines will avoid the spiral they said they wanted to avoid.

The 24th-ranked Wolverines, ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll after a national championship, will be eliminated from the rankings after being subbed and outplayed in a 21-7 loss at No. 22 Illinois at Memorial Stadium on Saturday . Michigan is now 4-3, 2-2 Big Ten and Illinois is 6-1, 3-1.

After losing at Washington two weeks earlier, the Wolverines said they would spend the extra week — they had last weekend off — finding an offensive identity and consistency. They hit the reset button and gave Jack Tuttle the start against the Illini after Davis Warren started the first three games and Alex Orji started the next three. Tuttle had relieved Orji in the game against Washington and gave the team a spark before two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter.

BOX Score: Illinois 21, Michigan 7

A lot went wrong for the Wolverines against Illinois. They had three turnovers, including two fumbles in the first half, and late in the second half they had no points on two long drives, one that went 15 plays and used nearly nine minutes and another that covered 69 yards in 12 plays managed and used five: 24.

Michigan's nine possessions resulted in three punts, two fumbles, an interception, a blocked field goal, a turnover on downs and a touchdown. For a team that had two weeks to prepare for this game, the offense was woefully lacking. Tuttle was 20 of 32 for 208 yards and had an interception and a fumble. Running back Donovan Edwards had the other fumble. The highlight was running back Kalel Mullings, who had 87 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Tight end Colston Loveland had 83 yards on seven catches.

The Wolverines' defense, which was without top cornerback Will Johnson for most of the game because of a toe injury that was reported on the telecast, was not the weak link in this game, giving up 267 yards. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was 9 of 18 for 80 yards and a touchdown and also had 48 yards on 10 carries and a score. He has just one interception this season and was turnover-free against Michigan.

The Wolverines gained some momentum late in the first half, scoring a touchdown and blocking an Illinois field goal attempt in the final seconds, but opened the second half with a three-and-out and a sack by Tuttle for a nine completely flat on offense -yard loss on third down. Illinois started its drive with strong field position starting at its 45-yard line.

It appeared Michigan's defense had stopped the Illini when Jaishawn Barham intercepted an Altmyer pass on third down to make it 4-0^Th and 7. But the Illini executed a fake punt and Tanner Arkin, who scored in the first half, ran 36 yards to the Michigan 16-yard line. Altmyer would score on a one-yard run and make it two points to build a 21-7 lead.

Michigan's defense was without standout cornerback Will Johnson, who suffered a toe injury, according to CBS television coverage. In the second half he stood on the sidelines without a helmet.

Trailing by two touchdowns, Michigan got the ball with 9:16 left in the third quarter and ran 65 yards in 15 plays with 8:49 to play, but Tuttle was sacked after 3 minutes^approx-and-6, forcing a 28-yard field goal attempt from Dominic Zvada, who was 7 of 7 on field goals early in the game. There appeared to be a holding issue and the kick was blocked with 27 seconds left in the third quarter.

Michigan managed another long drive in the fourth quarter, gaining 69 yards in 12 plays and converting to a 3rd^approx-and-18 with a 22-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland, Tuttle committed his second turnover of the game, this time an interception with just under eight minutes left, virtually negating any attempt at a comeback

The Wolverines, with Tuttle making his first start and playing behind a streamlined offensive line with Jeff Persi at left tackle, Greg Crippen at center and Andrew Gentry making his debut at right tackle, were in the mix in the first half Except for the finale, brutally inefficient possession and lone score that put the Wolverines up 13-7.

The Wolverines were undermined by two fumbles – one each by Tuttle and Edwards – and five penalties, including a pair of critical pass interferences. They had 80 yards in 16 plays before the scoring drive.

While Michigan enjoyed a bye the last two weeks following the loss at Washington, the Wolverines' defense said they focused on limiting explosive plays. Illinois had six pass plays of 15 or more yards and built a 13-0 lead with 7:53 left when Altmyer connected with Arkin for a two-yard score.

Tuttle's play was shaky in the first half and after the shaky start of Michigan's offense, the Wolverines finally returned to their bread and let Mullings walk. Illinois entered this game having allowed 239 rushing yards in each of the previous two games, and the Wolverines gained ground against the Illini on a 72-yard, 12-play touchdown drive that lasted just over six minutes. Mullings was responsible for eight runs during that drive, including the one-yard touchdown – it looked more like eight inches – on fourth down with 1:40 left.

Illinois tried to add points before halftime, but Makari Paige blocked a 44-yard field goal by David Olano with three seconds left. Olano had made field goals of 47 and 32 yards to give Illinois a 6-0 lead. The 47-yarder came on the first series of the game when Michigan forced a four^Th-and-3 at the 29-yard line.

Michigan's adjustments on the offensive line were partly due to injury. Myles Hinton, who started the first five games at left tackle, missed the Washington game and was in uniform at Illinois, but was considered a game-time decision. Crippen started in Washington in place of the injured Dom Giudice, who also wore the uniform at Illinois, and Gentry started in place of Evan Link.

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Michigan is out of sorts, falling short at Illinois as the QB conundrum continues

ByVanessa

By Vanessa

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