Michigan Football: 3 key takeaways from Wolverines win over Iowa

In a classic Big Ten dog fight, Michigan football prevailed with a defensive performance for the ages.

It felt like a bad trip to the dentist’s office while watching Michigan football and Iowa try to advance the football Saturday.

College football seems like it was sent back 100 years because of that atrocious display. Neither club could manage to sustain any drives and it just went on like that for the entire outing. Luckily for Michigan, it made a few more stops that finally lead to a triumph over a top-15 program.

The stingy Wolverines defense was the star of the day. They forced Nate Stanley to throw three interceptions, something that he hadn’t done in his previous139 attempts. Michigan football also netted eight sacks, which last happened in 2016 versus the Buckeyes. Overall, it was a lights out showing for a defense that has what it takes in them to do such things.

Offensively, Shea Patterson could not find a rhythm all game long. He barely hovered above 50 percent through the air along with not finding his game-breaking receivers on a consistent basis. Nico Collins got the most yardage, while Donovan Peoples-Jones caught four passes to spearhead the lack of the passing attack.

Michigan now heads to Champagne to square off with Illinois before the bulk of October hits. The last meeting there was eight years ago in which the Wolverines halted the Illini 31-14. Two years prior to that, Illinois handed Michigan a 38-13 loss during the forgetful days of Rich Rodriguez. Times have drastically changed and the Wolverines will battle to add to their current four game win streak over the Illini.