Michigan
5-1 , 3-1
Illinois
2-4 , 0-3
Wolverines Ride Season-Best Ground Game to Road Win Over Fighting Illini
10/12/2019 4:20:00 PM | Football
» Michigan rushed for 295 yards and withstood 25 unanswered points from Illinois to earn a 42-25 Big Ten road win.
» The Wolverines piled up 205 yards rushing in the first half en route to a 28-7 halftime lead.
» Hassan Haskins (125 yards) and Zach Charbonnet (116) recorded 100-yard rushing games and scored one touchdown each.
» Jordan Glasgow tied the team lead with 11 tackles and added a blocked punt and a fumble recovery.
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Memorial Stadium)
Score: #16 Michigan 42, Illinois 25
Records: U-M (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten), Illinois (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten)
Attendance: 37,275
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 7:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan football team used a dominant ground game to build a four-touchdown lead, then withstood 25 unanswered points from Illinois to earn a 42-25 Big Ten Conference road win Saturday (Oct. 12) at Memorial Stadium.
Sophomore Hassan Haskins (12 carries, 125 yards) and freshman Zach Charbonnet (18 carries, 116 yards) both had 100-yard rushing games and scored one touchdown apiece to lead the Michigan ground game that rolled up a season-high 295 yards rushing. The Wolverines totaled a season-best 489 yards of offense, while U-M's defense held Illinois to 256 total yards.
Michigan led 28-7 at the half and had the ball first after halftime, but the Wolverines managed just six yards on 10 plays on their first two drives of the second half. Meanwhile, Illinois added a 50-yard field goal on its first possession to make it 28-10 at the 10:14 mark, then used 15 plays to go 80 yards and chew up 7:27 of clock time to trim U-M's lead to 11, 28-17, with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing drive, a Michigan fumble on first down gave the ball back to Illinois on the U-M 36, and the Illini took advantage to pull within three points, 28-25, with 12:50 remaining. Dre Brown scored on a one-yard burst and ran for the two-point conversion after a pass interference call gave Illinois a second try.
Michigan responded, however, using a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to regain control and expand its lead back to double digits, 35-25, with 8:57 to go. Patterson converted a fourth-and-2 from the Illinois 13 with a four-yard run, and two plays later he found junior Donovan Peoples-Jones for a diving catch on a five-yard TD play.
Illinois gave the ball right back to Michigan, as sophomore Cameron McGrone separated Robinson from the the ball on first down and graduate student Jordan Glasgow recovered on the Illinois 20.
Although Michigan was stopped on fourth-and-2 from the 12-yard line, the Wolverines almost immediately got the ball back again and scored to put away the game, going up 42-25 with 6:21 remaining. Under heavy pressure from graduate student Michael Danna at the goal line, Illini quarterback Matt Robinson lost control of the ball while trying to throw, and senior Carlo Kemp plucked it out of the air, putting U-M on the doorstep at the 1-yard line. Patterson went in on a quarterback sneak on first down to seal the victory.
Patterson was 11-of-22 passing for 194 yards and threw three touchdown passes, while sophomore Ronnie Bell had 98 yards on three catches to lead the receiving corps.
Glasgow had a huge game on defense with 11 total tackles (eight solo), a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. McGrone also had 11 tackles (eight solo) along with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
After holding Illinois to a three-and-out to start the game, the Wolverines took over on their own 35-yard line and went 65 yards in five plays -- all runs -- to grab the early 7-0 lead. On third-and-1 from the Illini 29, Haskins burst through the line, broke a tackle and outraced several defenders for his first career touchdown. The drive started with Charbonnet carrying four times for 36 yards.
Michigan missed a 34-yard field goal attempt on its second drive but quickly put points on the board on its third possession, going 70 yards on four plays in just 55 seconds to make it 14-0. Patterson rolled right on a run-pass option and found sophomore Luke Schoonmaker wide open for the tight end's first career touchdown -- a 25-yard play -- with 0:59 left in the first quarter. Haskins' 28-run around the right side the previous snap gave Michigan 162 rushing yards, as the Wolverines in one quarter eclipsed their per game rushing average through five games (128.4).
Special-teams play led to a quick score and a 21-0 Michigan lead at 12:19 in the second quarter. With Illinois punting from its own 39, Glasgow blocked Blake Hayes' kick, and Michigan took over on the Illini 7-yard line. Charbonnet ran straight up the middle to the end zone on the first play.
On the second play of Michigan's sixth drive, Bell caught a Patterson pass across the middle, side-stepped a tackler, and followed Nick Eubanks down the left sideline for 71 yards -- 58 after the catch. Eubanks' effort was rewarded three plays later when Patterson found the senior tight end in the back of the end zone on a four-yard TD pass. Michigan led 28-0 with 4:33 on the second-quarter clock.
Late in the first half, Illinois went 67 yards on six plays, capped by a 21-yard pass from Robinson to Josh Imatorbhebhe, to get on the board with 0:55 left and cut Michigan's lead to 28-7. It marked the first touchdown surrendered by Michigan's defense since the Wisconsin game, ending a 10-quarter stretch without a TD allowed.
Michigan's first-half dominance was largely attributable to its ground game that amassed 205 yards on 24 attempts. Charbonnet (14 carries for 108 yards) and Haskins (four for 68) accounted for the bulk of the rushing success and scored one TD apiece. Overall, Michigan piled up 355 yards of offense in the first half while limiting the Illini to 133 yards and zero third-down conversions (0 for 7).
The Wolverines will be on the road again next Saturday (Oct. 19) for a night game at Penn State (No. 10 AP, No. 9 Coaches). The Wolverines and Nittany Lions will square off at 7:30 p.m. with ABC televising the game from Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Team Stats
MICH 7, ILL 0
MICH - Haskins, Hassan 29 yd run (Nordin, Quinn kick), 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:02
MICH 14, ILL 0
MICH - Schoonmaker, L. 25 yd pass from Patterson, Shea (Moody, Jake kick) 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:55
MICH 21, ILL 0
MICH - Charbonnet, Z. 7 yd run (Moody, Jake kick), 1 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:04
MICH 28, ILL 0
MICH - Eubanks, Nick 4 yd pass from Patterson, Shea (Moody, Jake kick) 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:35
MICH 28, ILL 7
ILL - Imatorbhebhe,J. 23 yd pass from Robinson,Matt (McCourt,James kick) 6 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:03
MICH 28, ILL 10
ILL - McCourt,James 50 yd field goal 10 plays, 31 yards, TOP 3:23
MICH 28, ILL 17
ILL - Robinson,Matt 1 yd run (McCourt,James kick), 15 plays, 80 yards, TOP 7:27
MICH 28, ILL 25
ILL - Brown,Dre 1 yd run (Brown,Dre rush), 6 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:04
MICH 35, ILL 25
MICH - Peoples-Jones 5 yd pass from Patterson, Shea (Nordin, Quinn kick) 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 3:48
MICH 42, ILL 25
MICH - Patterson, Shea 1 yd run (Nordin, Quinn kick), 1 plays, 1 yards, TOP 0:04
