Michigan Football: 4 questions facing Wolverines against Illinois
By Jacob Shames
Can Michigan’s defensive line carry the team again?
On the other hand, Michigan’s defensive front provided more reasons for optimism last Saturday than there were to count. And offense or no offense, if the Wolverines can continue those trends, they’ll at least have a puncher’s chance down the road.
Michigan came out with a gameplan to stop Iowa’s rushing attack, on which much of their passing game is also predicated. With defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour back in the fold after an injury kept him out much of the year, the Wolverines blew up the Hawkeyes’ big offensive line and held Mekhi Sargent, Toren Young and company to a single rushing yard (66 not counting sacks).
Quarterback Nate Stanley was forced out of his preferred game-manager role as a result, having to carry the Hawkeyes’ offense almost by himself. Under heavy pressure all afternoon, he completed just 54 percent of his passes and threw three picks. Michigan’s fearsome cadre of edge rushers, led by Kwity Paye (2.5 sacks), combined for a season-high eight.
With Dwumfour back as the veteran anchor in the middle the Wolverines lacked against Wisconsin, Paye, Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Uche, Cam McGrone and Jordan Glasgow form a pass-rush unit that can stifle opponents’ passing games before they even get going. And as of now, there don’t seem to be any reasons why that production isn’t sustainable.
Michigan’s offense comes into Saturday stuck in neutral. Its defense, meanwhile, is trending upward, having allowed just ten points in its last ten quarters. We’ll see if neither, one or both of those trends change against Illinois.