Michigan Football: 3 Wolverines who need to step up against Illinois

Patterson needs to elevate his game

It seems like we have been talking about Shea Patterson taking his play to the next level for weeks. He did so against Rutgers, but then came back to earth against Iowa.

Now, Patterson wasn’t terrible against the Hawkeyes, however, he was ineffective. His long pass to Nico Collins helped set up the game’s only touchdown and to his credit, he did lead a solid drive in the fourth quarter that should have led to three points.

Still, for the season, he’s completing just over 58 percent of his throws. He has just six touchdown passes in five games and has three interceptions to go along with all of his fumbles.

I still believe Patterson is a better quarterback than say Wilton Speight of 2016, but this defense isn’t that good, no matter how impressive the group looked last week.

Even if the defense continues to play at a high level, as we all know, elite offenses are going to score points, that’s just the way it works and to keep up with those teams, Patterson has to play better and with Penn State on the slate after Illinois, getting a confidence boost this week, on the road, is important.