3 things we need to see from Michigan football against Illinois

2. An improved pass defense

Will Rogers exposed Michigan's secondary even more in the Washington loss. Luke Altmyer can do the same thing. He's off to a 14-touchdown, one interception start in six games. He piled on Purdue's lousy defense with a 375-yard-plus performance. Against Penn State, he threw for half of that and tossed his lone interception.

Penn State's defense was able to hold Altmyer and the offense to under 200 yards in the air. Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill will have their hands full with Pat Bryant. He's produced a touchdown in every game this season except two. The Bryant/Altmyer combo are rising up draft boards in the process.

As for the Boilermakers they were able to get Altmyer to the ground five times. Penn State topped that by sacking Altmyer seven times. To sum it all up Altmyer has been sacked 19 times in six games this season. Michigan's defensive line will certainly want to pin their ears back and hope they can do the same thing to disrupt the pocket for him.

The Illini average about 240 yards per contest, while Michigan's pass defense is giving up more than that. Wink Martindale may have to blitz more if the backs cannot cover their receivers. We'll see if he makes any adjustments following the bye week.