Game balls from Michigan football's gut-check win over Illinois

Somehow, Michigan dug deep to keep its undefeated season alive with a 19-17 victory over Illinois. The win wasn’t secured until the waning moments of Saturday’s contest in Ann Arbor. It was a gritty team effort that was necessitated by the loss of junior running back Blake Corum.

Anthony Broome, Clayton Sayfie and Chris Balas select a player each week for Michigan after the game concludes. Here are the players that get the biggest nod from our staff following a Week 12 victory over Illinois.

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• Postgame reactions to Michigan football’s close call with Illinois

Chris Balas: Graduate kicker Jake Moody

Graduate kicker Jake Moody gets taken for granted sometimes around these parts despite being automatic when the game is on the line. He was 4-for-4 on the afternoon, hitting on attempts from 46, 41, 33 and 35 yards, the latter of which was the game-winner with 9 seconds remaining. The Wolverines do not want to have to keep leaning on him, but it sure is a relief to know they can. Moody is a cool customer, and in a sport where so many teams have their seasons derailed by kickers, Michigan has one of the very best.

Moody is now Michigan’s all-time leader in field goals (65) and tied a single-season record on Saturday with 25 makes through 11 games.

Clayton Sayfie: Freshman tight end Colston Loveland

Michigan has been without Erick All since the early stages of the season and once again held out Luke Schoonmaker. True freshman Colston Loveland was given another opportunity to step up and once again proved why he is one of the building blocks of the offense moving forward. He finished the day with 3 catches for 50 yards on 6 targets and also contributed as a blocker in the run game. Loveland has reached the advanced stages of his freshman season and now looks like a legitimate contributor even when Schoonmaker returns, presumably for Ohio State.

Anthony Broome: Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy

J.J. McCarthy (18-for-34, 208 yards) has taken a lot of heat, and to be frank, Saturday was far from a sterling performance. Michigan is still missing too many opportunities for plays through the air. But when you need to put a few drives together at the end of the game, your quarterback being a game manager and moving the chains becomes a necessity. He had one of the biggest plays of the game when he recovered his own fumbled snap and turned it into a first down for the Wolverines. The awareness to not go down to a knee to recover deserves a tip of the cap. And with the game on the line, McCarthy converted enough times late.

He is still clearly young and not as far along as he was expected to be, but he is 10-0 as a starting quarterback. Wins are a team statistic, but McCarthy made enough plays late to offset the loss of Corum.

Michigan football honorable mentions

Junior RB Blake Corum: Corum is a warrior and the heart and soul of this football team. Not having him in the second half hurt, but he had 18 carries for 108 yards and his 18th rushing touchdown of the season (19th total) on Saturday. All eyes now turn to if he can be ready for the Ohio State game.

Junior RB Isaiah Gash: Sometimes, you just have to stay ready. Gash is arguably Michigan’s fifth-string running back. By necessity, he moved up in the pecking order today. He had a critical fourth-down reception that kept the game alive on the game-winning drive to redeem a drop earlier in the day.

Graduate WR Ronnie Bell, senior WR Cornelius Johnson: On a day where the passing game was inconsistent, the two combined for 8 catches for 82 yards on the afternoon. Bell also had a 40-yard punt return that flipped field position for Michigan in the fourth quarter. Not a bad way to go out on Senior Day.

Freshman defensive tackle Mason Graham: The arrow continues to point upward for Graham, who finished the game with 4 total tackles. He has a newly unveiled spin move to add to his bull rush.

Senior defensive back DJ Turner: Turner played one of his best games from a tackling perspective on Saturday afternoon. He had 2 critical stops and a pass defended in the contest.