Tag: Illinois Fighting Illini

Previewing the Illinois defense ahead of Saturday’s game at Oregon

The Illinois defense is a formidable one and should be a good challenge for the Ducks.

The Illinois offense is humming like a well-oiled machine. It’s good and having a good season.

But the Illini wouldn’t be 6-1 and ranked 20th in the country if the defense didn’t step up and play outstanding football.

The unit has held opponents to fewer than 20 points in four of their seven games. The only outlier was Purdue, against whom Illinois won, 50-49, in overtime.

In their only loss of the season, at Penn State, the Illini fell 21-7. It was the lack of offense that lost the game, not the defensive effort.

In short, the Illinois defense is formidable, and the Ducks will need to bring their “A” game if they want to walk out of Autzen Stadium still the No. 1 team in the country.

Illinois is led by linebacker Gabe Jacas, a junior who was a freshman All-American two seasons ago. He leads the team in tackles for loss (7 1/2) and sacks (5 1/2).

According to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Illinois’ defense has improved greatly from a year ago.

“You just turn on the film; you see relentless effort from this defense,” Lanning said. “They’re consistently attacking the ball, and you can tell they’re preaching that. That’s something that doesn’t happen by accident.

“They’re doing an unbelievable job attacking the ball. They’ve had eight picks on defense and have caused 10 fumbles on defense,” he said. “They’re a team that swarms to the ball and when you can win the turnover margin, you’re going to have a lot of success.”

Ask Michigan how good Jacas is. In Illinois’ 21-7 win, Jacas had 13 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Besides Jacas, who looks like an NFL linebacker already, the Ducks need to worry about safety Scott Xavier. He has three interceptions and leads the team in that category.

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Previewing Illinois’ offense ahead of Saturday’s game with Oregon

Illinois’ offense could create some unique problems for Oregon’s defense on Saturday.

Before the season, it was generally accepted that Illinois had all of the pieces for a special year offensively. The only question was whether those pieces would fit to create a winning puzzle.

So far, those pieces have fit perfectly.

The Fighting Illini (6-1) are ranked No. 21 in the latest US LBM Coaches poll and coming off an impressive, 21-7, victory over Michigan. Two of those wins were in overtime and could have easily gone the other way.

Junior quarterback Luke Altmyer is having a great season with his a 66 completion percentage, 15 touchdowns and one interception. But it’s not like Illinois passes and then passes some more. Altmyer is averaging 215 yards per game. In his last two games, against Purdue and Michigan, Altmyer had a season high with 379 yards (Purdue) and a season low with 80 yards (Michigan).

Altmyer has two weapons at wide receiver he focuses on: Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin. Oregon coach Dan Lanning says they’re equally talented on both sides of the field.

“Those guys are really talented players and they do a good job at utilizing their tight end,” he said. “They have a good passing attack and one of the things they show they can do the best is throwing the ball over the top.”

The top tailback is Kaden Feagin, who averages 61 yards a game and has scored three touchdowns.

Updated Big Ten football standings after Week 8: Indiana and Oregon in first-place tie

Could we get an Oregon vs. Indiana Big Ten championship game? Updated Big Ten football standings after Week 8.

While Penn State was off this past week, the Nittany Lions remained one of three undefeated teams in Big Ten play this fall. But Penn State is now, technically, looking up in the updated Big Ten conference standings following the results of Week 8. Indiana and Oregon remained undefeated this season and improved to 4-0 in Big Ten play with blowout wins this weekend. Penn State will not face either team in the regular season, so watching what they do is critical if Penn State can continue to take care of its own schedule the rest of the way. Penn State is gearing up for a challenging three-game stretch beginning with this week’s road trip to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is seemingly surging at a good time too with another dominant performance on the scoreboard against its opponent. Wisconsin has outscored its last three opponents by a combined score of 117-16 (Rutgers, Northwestern, and Purdue). Of course, the Badgers will also be facing their biggest challenge since playing Alabama and USC in back-to-back weeks in September.

Here is a look at the updated Big Ten football standings at the conclusion of Week 8.

B1G W B1G L W L
Indiana 4 0 7 0
Oregon 4 0 7 0
Penn State 3 0 6 0
Illinois 3 1 6 1
Wisconsin 3 1 5 2
Ohio State 2 1 5 1
Iowa 2 2 4 3
Washington 2 2 4 3
Michigan 2 2 4 3
Michigan State 2 2 4 3
Nebraska 2 2 5 2
Minnesota 2 2 4 3
Northwestern 1 3 3 4
Maryland 1 3 4 3
Rutgers 1 3 4 3
USC 1 4 3 4
UCLA 1 4 2 5
Purdue 0 4 1 6

Indiana, Oregon, Penn State, and Illinois are all officially bowl-eligible. No team in the Big Ten is ineligible for postseason play, but Purdue is now sitting on six losses this season, putting them on the brink of being the first Big Ten to be ruled ineligible for a bowl game this season.

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Michigan vs Illinois injury report: Latest updates, news for Week 8

All the latest updates and news on Michigan’s injury report ahead of a Week 8 game vs. Illinois.

Michigan football went from being one of the healthier teams in college football to being one that’s struggled mightily with injury in the past few weeks.

Not only is Rod Moore out for the foreseeable, but we’ve seen Colston Loveland, Will Johnson, Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore, Myles Hinton, Dom Giudice, Wesley Walker, Jimmy Rolder, and others out in the past few weeks. But, with Michigan having had a bye week, the Wolverines hope to return for the Illinois game much healthier than they’ve been in recent weeks.

On the other side of the ball, Illinois is expected to be without starting running back Kaden Feagin, but who else will be out?

Here is the official injury report for both teams now that the Week 8 game is at hand.

Michigan injury report

Questionable

  • Aamir Hall
  • Jimmy Rolder
  • Myles Hinton

Out

  • Jaden Mangham
  • Micah Pollard
  • Rod Moore
  • Enow Etta
  • Ja’Den McBurrows (season)
  • Jordan Marshall
  • Rayshaun Benny
  • Leon Franklin
  • Bryson Kuzdzal

Illinois injury report

Questionable

  • None

Out

  • Kaden Feagin
  • Daniel Brown
  • Magnus Møller

Myles Hinton injury update

It’s unclear when Hinton ended up being injured but he missed the Week 6 game at Washington. With the bye week, there was hope that he could return but if he is unable to go, senior Jeff Persi will take his place as he did in Seattle.

Derrick Moore injury update

It was a little surprising that Moore was injured given that he arrived in Seattle and took part in pregame walkthroughs. However, after the injury report, he emerged in street clothes. The hope is that the week off provided him with some time to get healthy.

Dom Giudice injury update

Giudice was also injured prior to Week 6 and despite him getting healthier, the expectation is that Greg Crippen — who filled in for him against Washington — will retain the starting job.

Michigan football announces uniform combo for Illinois game

Clean! #GoBlue

Michigan football has been on the road once thus far this year having gone to Seattle to play Washington in what ended up being a 27-17 loss to the Huskies. In that game, the Wolverines went with a more traditional look, having sported white tops with maize bottoms.

On Saturday, the maize and blue head out on the road for the second time this year, set to face No. 21 Illinois in Champaign. The Illini may be sporting alternate uniforms, although there’s some debate as to whether or not they’ll actually wear them.

However, Michigan football is set to sport the traditional white uniform, albeit with one of its alternate looks on Saturday. The Wolverines announced that they will wear white tops with the blue pants, along with white accessories.

Michigan debuted the blue pants on the road in 2021 at Wisconsin. To this point, the Wolverines have yet to lose a game where it has worn white tops and blue pants.

Kickoff is set for 3:40 p.m. EDT at Memorial Stadium in Champaign and the game will be nationally televised on CBS.

Illinois to be without leading rusher vs. Michigan football

Wonder if this will change anything? #GoBlue

Michigan football has been dealing with some injury concerns of late, with left tackle Myles Hinton, center Dominick Giudice, and edge rusher Derrick Moore all being unavailable against Washington in Week 6. The Wolverines have also seen Josaiah Stewart, Will Johnson, Colston Loveland, and several reserves miss time in recent weeks.

While there’s no telling who will or won’t be available for the maize and blue, Illinois will be without one of its key pieces on Saturday.

According to 247Sports Illinois reporter Joey Wagner, Illini head coach Bret Bielema says that running back Kaden Feagin will be out vs. the Wolverines, missing his second straight week of play.

It’s a huge blow for Illinois. In five games, Feagin has rushed 67 times for 306 yards and three touchdowns. His best game was in the season opener when he ran for 108 yards on 16 carries. While his next two games were lackluster, he ran well against Nebraska and Penn State in the following weeks.

However, his backup, Josh McCray, managed 78 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns last week against Purdue while Aidan Laughery had eight carries for 26 yards.

Illinois to wear special uniforms for Saturday’s Michigan football game

These are interesting. #GoBlue

Michigan football has a bigger-than-expected game on Saturday against No. 21 Illinois and the Illini are treating it as one of their biggest games in quite some time.

Head coach Bret Bielema got choked up discussing the forthcoming contest as he recalled the two-point loss to the Wolverines in 2022. The game is also serving as the 100th-anniversary rededication of Memorial Stadium as the Illini commemorate Red Grange’s historic 1924 performance against the maize and blue as he mounted an almost single-handed incredible comeback vs. the Wolverines.

And while we won’t know what the maize and blue will be wearing on Saturday, we do know that Illinois will be wearing special uniforms for the game.

It’s definitely an interesting look and it will be made all the more interesting considering that the Wolverines won’t likely be wearing anything outside of the usual.

Regardless, the crowd in Champaign will be fired up and Michigan will need much more than usual to be able to take down the Illini.

Michigan football urgent, but not panicked in lackluster 2024 season

#Michigan absolutely needs to win this one. #GoBlue

Michigan football went two full years without losing in the regular season. However, with a confluence of events — Jim Harbaugh leaving for the NFL, roster turnover, still figuring out the quarterback situation — the Wolverines have lost two games in six tries in the 2024 campaign.

To those outside of Schembechler Hall, the season feels over, like this team won’t contend for anything. But with six games left on the schedule, anything can happen — not just for Michigan, but for any team out there. Teams that were hot early can get cold. Teams that looked incapable early can look like world-beaters by the season’s end. It happens almost every year.

Senior team captain and fullback Max Bredeson says these Wolverines know what time it is, and though there’s a sense of urgency, that hasn’t boiled over into pandemonium inside the locker room.

“It’s definitely urgency,” Bredeson said. “You have to find the line between urgency and panic. That’s big thing that we’ve established — can’t be panicked. But there’s a lot of like, sense of gotta roll, gotta get things going. But yeah, basically be urgent, but make sure you don’t cross that line.”

But what does that mean? What does urgency look like?

Part of it is a calmness, but another is having players who aren’t accustomed to losing understanding that it can be a part of football. Another part is just doing what’s needed daily, focusing on the minutiae instead of the overall big picture. Junior cornerback Will Johnson says that everyone inside the locker room understands what time it is and what they need to do in order to keep the eye on the prize.

“I think right now, it’s just making sure everyone knows how serious it is and how urgent it is,” Johnson said. “Like you said, we got some young guys that haven’t been in this type of — haven’t experienced this, had all our experience of losing and things like that. So I think as a whole, we’re just trying to attack every day and be urgent.”

Saturday presents a big challenge for the maize and blue. A game that was thought in the preseason to be a layup now is a huge ranked-on-ranked matchup, on the road, no less. And it’s against an Illinois team that would love nothing more than to get a win over Michigan while celebrating a big upset win over Michigan 100 years ago.

Thus, urgency is paramount. Panic could bring the team down. Thankfully, as Bredeson says, he’s not seen that from his team.

“Thankfully, we’ve never crossed that line,” Bredeson said. “So that’s something we take a lot of pride in here, of mental composure and to cross the line would just look panicked and flustered. Luckily, that’s not the deal due to the training that we’ve had. It’s not how it’s gone.”

Michigan and Illinois will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Memorial Stadium with the game nationally broadcast on CBS.

Michigan football player on Illinois: ‘They’ll punch you in the mouth’

This is a serious game with serious consequences. #GoBlue

In the preseason, it wasn’t expected that Michigan football’s midseason trip to Champaign to face Illinois would be a huge matchup. However, the Illini enter the game 5-1, ranked one spot higher than the Wolverines at No. 21 and will be rededicating Memorial Stadium on the 100th anniversary of a historic game by Red Grange.

In discussing this matchup, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema got choked up, remembering how the Illini nearly pulled off the upset against the maize and blue — though the game ended in the Wolverines’ favor controversially (in the eyes of Illinois).

“The last one was pretty big,” Bielema said. “The reason I just got choked up, you guys know what happened the last time we played. The last one was big, I thought we had a good enough football team to go up there and win. Unfortunately, we didn’t. There was a lot of things that went into it, things we could’ve done better. We didn’t get to rematch those guys last year so we get to rematch them this year.”

This isn’t the type of game where Michigan can just simply line up, run its stuff, and win. The Wolverines are going to have to be much better than they’ve been thus far this season in order to get that fifth win of the season. And thankfully, the players inside the locker room aren’t looking at this one like it’s some lowly team they’ll be playing against.

“I don’t know about what it means necessarily to over there and stuff, in all honesty, but for us, it’s a huge game. It’s a really big game,” running back Kalel Mullings said. “I mean, for me personally, for a lot of guys in the locker room, we go right back to 2022, we know how these guys are. There’s some dogs over there, and there’s some really good players, and they’ll punch you in the mouth, we know that firsthand. So I don’t think anybody’s sitting here, taking it lightly or not even going into the season, just because it’s not a high media game, and, like, the TVs all around, like some other games on the schedule. This was still one of the games that’s like, yo, it’s one of those games, and it’s one you got a buckle your chin strap for.

“So it’s nothing but respect for these guys. And, yeah, I don’t know what’s going on over there, but it’s still nothing but respect for these guys, for sure.”

Of course, the last time the two programs matched up, it was before rivalry week — which, sometimes for Michigan, can end up closer than anticipated. Mullings notes, however, that the last game was more evidence of how good Illinois was compared to Michigan overlooking the Illini. And similarly, this team isn’t overlooking this Illini team, well aware that this game could end up as a loss if they don’t play well.

“Yeah, the game before the Ohio State game, obviously, that’s always a tough game,” Mullings said. “But even then, we knew, there were some dogs. You watch that 2022 Illinois team, and you look at what those guys are doing on Sundays now, and it’s like — we knew, and they still were a field goal away. So we know how Illinois can handle business, and how they can come and play you real tough and real hard and punch you in the mouth. So, we’ve been practicing these past two weeks to ensure that that doesn’t happen.”

Michigan and Illinois will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 local time) at Memorial Stadium. The game will be nationally broadcast on CBS.

Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore previews what Illinois does well

There’s a lot to prepare for this week. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s not often that Michigan football has a ranked-on-ranked matchup against Illinois, but what was seen as a gimme in the preseason is now a tough game in Champaign, with the Illini being ranked No. 21 against the No. 22 Wolverines.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore needs a win to keep his team afloat, but it won’t be easy. Though the Illini had a disappointing season last year, they’re looking more like the 2022 squad that took the Wolverines to the brink, in some ways.

On Monday, Moore broke down what he’s seen from Illinois and he says that it is the embodiment of its head coach, led by a savvy, emerging quarterback.

“Coach Bielema just does an outstanding job building a program,” Moore said. “Physicality, toughness, detailed. And what they do offensively, Luke Altmeyer, their quarterback, he’s gotten so much better. He’s just progressed from last year to this year. You could see him being in the system for another year, and they’ve got skill guys all over the place, with the receivers and the two backs are really good.”

Last year, Altmeyer was a turnover machine, having thrown 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. However, this year, his completion percentage is up three points and he’s thrown 14 touchdowns to just one interception.

But that’s only part of the battle.

Though not as stout as the 2022 squad which had Ryan Walters leading the charge as defensive coordinator, this is a plus unit defensively, giving up just under 350 yards per game.

Moore sees a group that’s smart, physical, and can do a lot to confuse you offensively as he’s seen them change schematically from week to week.

“Defensively — tough, physical front,” Moore said. “They’ve mixed up the coverages in these past games. Played a little bit more quarters last game, and that could have been of who they were playing, but they’re mainly a one-high team that will go to two-high stuff. But physical defense, and we gotta be ready for that challenge.”

Michigan will start Jack Tuttle for the first time and is coming out of the bye week. The game will take place on Saturday at Memorial Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff.