Michigan Football: 5 things we learned about Wolverines against Illinois

The O-line is playing very well

The offensive line wasn’t perfect at Illinois by any means, however, if your quarterback doesn’t get sacked once and you rush for 295 yards and four touchdowns, that’s a pretty good day at the office.

Patterson obviously felt pressure at times, but the protection was solid and the running game was even better. The Wolverines established themselves early on the ground and that was huge with the windy conditions.

Getting two young backs to rush for more than 100 yards was great to see, but it was even more encouraging to see the coaching staff come out and lean heavily on the hogs up front.

This group was one of the strengths of the team last season and it was expected to be again in 2019 with four starters returning. The Wisconsin game was a nightmare, but as we have seen, the Badgers may just be extraordinarily good, especially at Camp Randall.

Since then, Michigan football has gotten better and better. Averaging 6.1 an attempt is pretty outstanding, even against Illinois.