No. 16 Wolverines 'close' offensively heading to Illinois

[October 09, 2019]  Michigan has made big strides defensively in the past two games. Offensively, the Wolverines might still need a lot of work.

No. 16 Michigan followed up a shutout of downtrodden Rutgers with a 10-3 victory over previously unbeaten Iowa last weekend. The Wolverines (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) play at struggling Illinois (2-3, 0-2) on Saturday in Champaign.

Michigan's defense forced four turnovers and recorded eight sacks against the Hawkeyes. Iowa gained 1 yard rushing on 30 carries, thanks to the 65 yards lost via the sacks.

The Wolverines' offense wasn't much better, as Iowa had more first downs (18-13) and limited quarterback Shea Patterson to 147 passing yards. Patterson is completing 58.3 percent of his passes for 1,052 yards, with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Coach Jim Harbaugh claims to see progress in "all areas."

"It's an evolving, improving group," he said of the offense. "I've seen them be at a really high level in practice consistently and a really high level in games. And getting that consistently high level in both games and practice is what I feel what I see coming."

The Wolverines piled up 52 points against overmatched Rutgers but have not been productive against stronger opponents. They were fortunate to defeat unranked Army 24-21 in overtime, then got walloped 35-14 in their conference opener at Wisconsin.

Once again, Harbaugh sees the glass as half full.

"The red zone is something that's been good for us," he said. "As I said after the game, I feel like we're very close offensively and very close to hitting our stride, hitting on all cylinders. Really good evidence to back that up and also what I see."

The Fighting Illini carry a three-game losing streak into the contest. They opened the season with victories over Akron and Connecticut. Eastern Michigan then pulled off a 34-31 upset, and Illinois has since dropped conference games to Nebraska (42-38) and Minnesota (40-17).

Former Wolverines quarterback Brandon Peters has a chance to derail Michigan's hopes for a conference championship -- if he plays. The junior graduate transfer, who has taken over as Illinois' starter, departed the loss against the Golden Gophers with an undisclosed injury and is questionable to play on Saturday.

"(Peters) knew that Michigan was on the schedule when he decided to come here. Nothing has changed," Illinois coach Lovie Smith said. "It's Michigan week now, so I know he's pumped up and of course hoping he'll be ready to go this week. Hopefully, that'll be the case."

Illinois trailed just 16-10 at halftime against Minnesota but fell apart in the second half without Peters, who was knocked out of the game early in the second quarter.

Peters has thrown for 10 touchdowns, compared to four interceptions, while completing 58.3 percent of his passes. Another quarterback option, freshman Isaiah Williams, is also nursing an injury. If neither is available, redshirt sophomore Matt Robinson will likely get the start. Robinson was 15 of 29 for 125 yards in relief of Peters last weekend.

"It's always concerning when a player doesn't finish a game -- so you start with that," Smith said. "They're getting better. We're hopeful. We'll need everyone to be able to beat a team like Michigan."

The Wolverines lead the all-time series 70-23-2 and have won the past four meetings. However, the teams haven't faced each other since 2016, when Michigan cruised to a 41-8 victory.

--Field Level Media

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