Defending national champion Michigan drops to 4-3 with 21-7 loss to No. 22 Illinois

No. 24 Michigan’s season has become very predictable.

The defending national champions fell 21-7 to No. 22 Illinois on Saturday to drop to 4-3. The Wolverines struggled again to throw the football, turned the ball over three times and left the defense to defend multiple short fields.

Illinois had just 267 yards of total offense, and the Illini’s longest scoring drive was 55 yards. That came in the third quarter, when Luke Altmyer scored a 1-yard TD on the eighth play of the drive to give the Illini a 14-point lead after the ensuing 2-point conversion.

Oh, that drive also included a phenomenal fake punt that totally caught Michigan off-guard.

After Illinois opened the game with a field goal, the 10 consecutive points the Illini scored came on a 32-yard field goal after a 24-yard drive and a TD on a seven-play, 51-yard drive.

The field goal was set up by a fumble by QB Jack Tuttle. He made his first start of the season after appearing in relief of Alex Orji during the Wolverines’ Week 6 loss at Washington. The TD came after Donovan Edwards fumbled at midfield at the end of a 19-yard run.

Michigan pieced together a long TD drive to cut Illinois’ lead to six before halftime, but that was the best the offense looked all day. A 65-yard drive in the second half led to a blocked field goal, and a 12-play, 69-yard drive ended midway through the fourth quarter with an interception.

The Wolverines’ offense simply can’t be counted on to break a big play unless it’s in the run game. TE Colston Loveland’s 29-yard catch was the only UM play of over 20 yards until Hogan Hansen’s 20-yard catch on the final garbage-time drive. Kalel Mullings rushed 19 times for 87 yards, and Tuttle was sacked five times.

Tuttle finished 20-of-32 passing for 208 yards and two turnovers. His pedestrian yardage total underscores how much trouble Michigan has had throwing the football. It’s the most yards the Wolverines have thrown for all season as UM QBs have thrown for over 200 yards in a game just twice all season.

Given that Tuttle is the team’s third QB of the season after Orji and Davis Warren, it seems clear that the passing game doesn’t have a magic fix. And with games remaining against No. 2 Oregon, No. 16 Indiana and No. 4 Ohio State in November, Michigan may be fortunate to get to eight wins this season.