A silence gripped the Big House crowd, packed into Michigan Stadium on Saturday for Seniors’ Day.
The hope for fans, initially, was the chance to send Michigan football out of its final home game of 2022 with momentum.
Instead, all the focus was on star running back Blake Corum, young quarterback JJ McCarthy and avoiding an almost eye-popping upset, as Wolverines kicker Jake Moody scored three field goals at the fourth quarter – the last with nine seconds left – to give UM a narrow 19-17 win over Illinois.
SHAWN WINDSOR:Michigan escapes against Illinois. Ohio State next. Let the hype begin.
IN SHORT HAND:Michigan without RB Donovan Edwards for home final
Corum, Michigan’s Heisman Trophy contender in the backfield, left late in the first half after suffering an apparent leg injury. He came back in the third quarter for a five-yard run, but had to leave the game and would not return. He finished with 18 carries for 108 yards and one score and two catches for 39 yards.
His departure apparently sucked the juice out of the stadium.
To make matters worse, Corum fumbled on the injured carry on his first fumble of the year, deep in Illini territory in the final two minutes of the first half.
In the second half, Illinois scored on an 8-yard run from Chase Brown – the first second-half touchdown allowed by the Wolverines since Oct. 1. Michigan dropped a potential fourth touchdown on its next trip and the Illini needed just three plays to score their second touchdown of the day, again by Brown, and put the Wolverines in a hole 17-10.
Brown, the nation’s top rusher, had temporarily stolen the show in Ann Arbor, running 29 times for 140 yards and two scores against the nation’s top-ranked running defense.
But the Wolverines didn’t fold in defense, and after three saves from the Illini, they put the ball in the hands – or rather, the foot – of Jake Moody, the reigning Lou Groza Award winner as a as the best college kicker in the country.
He delivered three kicks in the fourth quarter despite freezing temperatures and gusty winds (although they were behind his back in the last stanza). His final boot, good for 35 yards, propelled Michigan (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) past Illinois (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) and into their de facto Big Ten East championship game. still undefeated.
The final disc
Trailing by one, Michigan won the ball back with 2:15 left in the game and no timeouts remaining. After a quick outing to Cornelius Johnson won 3, quarterback JJ McCarthy held the ball for a win of four. Tavierre Dunlap was stuffed with no money in the next game, bringing fourth and third with the clock ticking and the game on the line.
McCarthy found fourth-string running back Isaiah Gash on a flat road behind a blocking Colston Loveland to pick up the first down. McCarthy targeted Ronnie Bell on the next pass, which went incomplete, but the Illini were flagged for pass interference to give Michigan another round of downs on Illinois 22.
Michigan gained five more yards on its next three plays, before an incompleteness sent Moody onto the field for his final down.
When Illinois Stole the Moose
For a long time into Saturday’s second half, it looked like the Wolverines were indeed caught in a classic “trick game”. Facing an Illinois team that had given up its previous two games to seriously hurt its Big Ten West chances, the Wolverines struggled on offense right away.
With just a four-point lead at halftime, the pressure was on for the Wolverines to replicate the success of previous games in the second half – Michigan had outscored their opponents 117-3 in the third and fourth quarters in the second half. last five games – but it didn’t happen early.
After forcing a three and out on Illini’s possession to open the third, Michigan took over near midfield but didn’t take full advantage. After a 14-yard first pass to Johnson, the drive fell through and the Wolverines settled for a Moody 45-yard field goal through the swirling wind.
Illinois then got to work. After Brown snatched an 11 win, Michigan was flagged for too many men on the field, moving the ball into Wolverines territory. A 17 pass from Tommy DeVito to Michael Marchese sent Illinois into the red zone for the first time of the day, before Brown snatched an 8-yard score on third-and-second.
Michigan won two first downs in its next drive, both on third down conversions – a 9-yard run by CJ Stokes on third-and-5, then a 20-yard pass to Isaiah Gash on a pass screen on the third and -ten.
Facing fourth and seventh of Illinois’ 37, coach Jim Harbaugh left his offense on the field. McCarthy, expecting an offside flag on the defence, sent a ball deep in the left sideline to Andrel Anthony, but the ball bounced off his hands and fell incomplete for a turnover on the downs.
Illinois’ next three plays: DeVito at Casey Washington for 16, DeVito at Brown for 10, then Brown for 37 rushing down the right sideline for the score – suddenly Michigan was trailed by a touchdown for the first time this season.
Wolverines scavenge
After a three-and-out by the offense, boos rained down from the Big House stands. But the Wolverines defense and special teams persevered.
Ilinois’ ensuing drive fell back from midfield, blocked by a missed snap on third-and-8 by DeVito in the shotgun formation. He chased the ball and fell on it for a loss of 11 yards, forcing an Illini punt of their own 34, and potentially strong field position for UM.
Ronnie Bell, on special teams in place of injured AJ Henning (who didn’t dress on Saturday), made an electric play on the punt return, breaking two tackles and moving up the right sideline 39 yards to launch the Wolverines into Illinois territory. . But the stagnant attack managed just one first down and had to settle for another Moody’s basket from 41 yards out to make it 17-13.
Illinois, looking to tidy up the game, ran 42 yards into Michigan territory, reaching UM 33. Too close for a punt, but too far for a field goal, Illinois coach Bret Bielema maintained his downfield attack in fourth-and-seven. With no open receivers, DeVito rushed in, only to be knocked down by DJ Turner after a 2-yard gain.
Finally, the Wolverines offense started to pay off. On the third-and-8 with just under six minutes left, McCarthy caught a fumble snap, rolled a right and completed an 11-yard pass to Johnson for a first down. Four plays later, on the fourth and fourth, McCarthy found Roman Wilson, moving on the play, for a win of nine.
Two incompletions followed – a drop by Gash from a potential touchdown, then a miss from a wide-open Loveland with the end zone in sight – and Michigan settled for a 33-yard field goal from Moody to make it 17-16 with 3:14 to play.
Michigan then forced a three-and-out, while using all three timeouts, to give the offense — well, Moody’s — one last chance.
#Michigan #football #rolls #win #Illinois