Best and worst from Michigan football's win over Illinois
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football won a thrilling 19-17 game over Illinois Saturday afternoon. Here are the best and worst from The Big House.
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Most clutch play(er)
Michigan graduate kicker Jake Moody has ice in his veins. On a freezing-cold day with howling winds, that’s quite the combination.
Moody made four field goals, including a 46-yarder into the wind early in the third quarter, and three in the fourth quarter. He was good from 41 and 33 yards in the final stanza, before nailing a 35-yarder for the win with just 9 seconds left.
Moody, Michigan’s all-time leader in career field goals (65), is as reliable as they come, but it’s still nerve-wracking to leave the game up to a kicker. There are just so many variables and things that can go wrong. But everything was right on that one, with Moody drilling it right down the middle.
The Michigan kicker said after the game that it was his first-ever game-winning kick, but we actually beg to differ. This was his first with just seconds to go, but he hit a 39-yarder to put U-M ahead with 1:24 left at Nebraska last season.
That’s why, in hindsight, it was no surprise that Moody’s final kick at The Big House was true blue.
Most trustworthy
Moody is Mr. Reliable, but so was the defense. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh faced a tough decision late in the game. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-11 at the Illinois 15-yard line with just over three minutes left, Harbaugh went with a 33-yard Moody field goal and hoped his defense, which had struggled a bit throughout the game, could get a stop.
Coordinator Jesse Minter‘s unit came through with a three-and-out aided by a holding call, which helped field position, to get the ball back. Michigan took over at its own 48-yard line after the punt, drove down to the Illinois 17 and set up Moody for the kick of his life.
Best scene
Moody was mobbed by his teammates immediately following the kick, and the celebration raged on in the locker room. It was quite the scene:
Scariest moment
Michigan was shorthanded with numerous significant injuries in this game. That included sophomore running back Donovan Edwards, junior Blake Corum‘s sidekick, who did not dress. Goals one and two in a game the week before ‘The Game’ are to 1) win and 2) stay healthy. Michigan did the first by the skin of its teeth. And not doing No. 2 didn’t help the cause of No. 1.
Michigan had a second-and-10 on the Illinois 17-yard line, with the Wolverines attempting to punch in a touchdown late in the first half. Corum ran to the right, was hit and dropped the ball as he went down to grab his left knee. The ball came out before he was down, and Illinois recovered.
On one play, Michigan lost its star player and Heisman Trophy contender, plus turned the ball over for the sixth time this season and failed to score.
A single play could quite literally have not been much worse for the Maize and Blue.
Best sign
Corum got up and walked (gingerly) into the locker room after getting hurt. Once the game clock hit 0:00 for the half, all attention was on whether or not Corum would be able to come back, or if the injury was serious enough to hold him out of next week’s tilt at Ohio State.
There’s nothing definitive on the latter, but the vibes are much more positive now, after Corum came charging out of the locker room following halftime, warmed up and got a carry early in the third quarter.
He was still being bothered by the ailment, so Michigan held him out of the rest of the game. But the good news is it wasn’t the worst-case scenario. And Harbaugh mentioned postgame that players “on the fringe” of being able to play will give it their all to be out there next week.
Biggest redemption
Michigan turned to its next men up at the running back position with Corum out. One of those men was junior Isaiah Gash, a walk-on. There wasn’t much running room for any non-Corum ball carrier, with the rest of the running backs combining for 42 yards on 15 rushes.
Gash carried 3 times for 6 yards, then had a huge drop on second-and-11 at the Illinois 15-yard line with around four and a half minutes to play. Michigan wound up having to settle for a field goal after the play in which he might’ve been able to score.
Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy went right back to Gash in an even bigger spot later, though. The Wolverines needed 3 yards on fourth down at the Illinois 45. McCarthy threw an out route to Gash, who motioned from out wide into the slot, and he picked up the first down.
“He definitely doesn’t want to drop that ball, so he’s going to come back the next opportunity he gets and make that play,” McCarthy said. “At the end of the day, him dropping that, I was almost more inclined to go back to him. I know there’s a better chance he’s going to make that the next time.”
Worst drops
There were a couple drops outside of Gash’s that were notable.
The first came from Illinois wide receiver Miles Scott, who was wide open along the Illini sideline on a first-and-10 play in the second quarter. He had a lot of green grass in front of him. Several plays later, the Illini were stopped on fourth down.
The next one was even more consequential, a Michigan drop from sophomore wide receiver Andrel Anthony. Facing fourth-and-6 on the Illinois 37-yard line, Michigan thought it drew the Illini offsides but didn’t get the call. Thinking he had a free play, McCarthy threw a bomb to a streaking Anthony near the goal line. It was well thrown, but it went through the wideout’s hands. That could’ve been a game-changer.
Biggest spark
Michigan’s offense struggled to move the ball, sustain drives and play consistently all afternoon. That’s what made graduate wide receiver Ronnie Bell‘s 40-yard punt return so clutch. It set up the Moody field goal that got the Wolverines within four points, 17-13, early in the fourth quarter.
Best two-year stretch since…
It’s way too early to say this is Michigan’s best two-year stretch in 119 years, considering what’s at stake next weekend and beyond, but in one respect, it has been.
The Maize and Blue won 12 games last season and have stacked 11 victories this year. It’s the first time they’ve won 11 or more games in back-to-back seasons since 1902-03 (they also won 11 in 1901).
Time to stack some more.
Quickest page turn
As soon as the clock hit 0:00, it became, around these parts, ‘Ohio State week.’ The best week of the year that builds up to the greatest rivalry in sports.
Harbaugh said he’d allow himself six hours to celebrate the Illinois win. Junior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said the Buckeyes would get his full attention Sunday but that it would be difficult to stay away from OSU film Saturday night. Bell said he’s already moved on.
“Now to play The Game, that’s all we wanted, man,” Bell said. “It felt good, once the clock hit zero, to get out of here with a win. Now we get to play the game that we all want.”
