Michigan Football: Previewing the Illinois Game

Even though Michigan played poorly against Iowa last Saturday, they still had a shot to send it into overtime and possibly win.

Unfortunately, they fell short and ended up losing.

This week they'll go on the road again to play an Illinois team that has lost three in a row.

Here's a scouting report on the Illini, and five players that Michigan needs to watch out for.

5. Michael Buchanan (DE)

Michael Buchanan is just one of many great defensive players that Illinois has.

He may be overshadowed a bit by Whitney Mercilus, so that's probably why he doesn't get the attention he deserves.

Jonathan Brown could probably have been placed in this spot as well, but I gave Buchanan a slight edge.

Again, if not for Mercilus, Buchanan would lead the Illini in many defensive statistics.

Regardless, he is still tied for second in the Big Ten in sacks, only behind Mercilus.

Illinois has three players in the top eight of the Big Ten in tackles for loss, and Buchanan is one of them, with 10.5.

Illinois may move him around some and even stand him up at times, but Michigan has to be aware of where he is at all times.

4. Jason Ford (RB)

Even though Illinois lost Mikel LeShoure from last year's team, Jason Ford was expected to step in and do just fine this season.

He has been very average so far.

As a junior last season, Ford averaged just under five yards a carry and rushed for almost 500 yards as a backup.

This season, he isn't even averaging four yards a carry, and hasn't even hit 500 rushing yards yet.

Michigan's rush defense hasn't been great this year, so Illinois might try and pound the ball on Saturday.

Ford weighs 235 pounds, and we all saw how much trouble Michigan had with a big running back last week in Marcus Coker.

Michigan certainly has to prepare for Ford, but he is by no means the focal point of the Illini offense.

3. Nate Scheelhaase (QB)

Scheelhaase is following up a solid freshman year with another solid season.

However, he hasn't necessarily made as much progression as some had hoped.

He is basically completing 64 percent of his passes, after completing only 58 percent last year.

He has a respectable touchdown to interception ratio of 12-5.

However, a big concern is that he has been sacked 23 times this year.  Whether that is his fault or the offensive line's can be debated.

Illinois probably isn't going to beat Michigan through the air, seeing as how poor their passing numbers are.

We will see Scheelhaase run a lot on Saturday.  In fact, he actually leads the team in rushing, with 501 yards.  However, he is only averaging 3.7 yards per carry.

Along with Jason Ford and true freshman Donovonn Young, Scheelhaase provides Illinois with a very dangerous running game.

2. Whitney Mercilus (DE)

Take a look at almost any Big Ten defensive statistic, and Whitney Mercilus is probably at or near the top of it.

He not only leads the Big Ten in sacks, but the entire country.

Mercilus also leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 16.5.  In fact, he is third in the country, only behind two players from non AQ schools.

He also leads the Big Ten in forced fumbles, and it's not even close.  Mercilus has forced six fumbles this year, while the next closest player has only forced three.

Only a junior, there's a chance that he could come back next year and be even better.  However, it would not be a surprise to see him leave early for the NFL.

He is a big reason Illinois has one of the best run defenses in the country.  The Illini are only allowing 102 yards per game on the ground this year.

It would be a surprise if Fitz Toussaint or Vincent Smith or any other Michigan running back had success against this defense.

If Michigan's offense wants to start moving the ball effectively again, Al Borges needs to start calling a better game, as he has come under a lot of criticism recently, and deservedly so.

1. A.J. Jenkins (WR)

This was a somewhat easy choice for No. 1.  What A.J. Jenkins has done this year has been nothing short of amazing.

Michigan will have no easy task on their hands when trying to defend him. 

Because they faced Marvin McNutt last week, you could easily make the case that the Wolverines will be going up against the two best receivers in the Big Ten in back to back weeks.

Jenkins leads the Big Ten with 68 catches.  The next closest is McNutt, with only 57.

Jenkins has amazingly already gone over 1,000 yards receiving, as he currently has 1,030.  Again, McNutt is second with 959.

Although McNutt leads the Big Ten with nine touchdowns catches, Jenkins is third with seven.

Jenkins is averaging over 7.5 catches per game, which leads the Big Ten, and of course McNutt is second.

Only two receivers in the conference average over 100 receiving yards a game, and of course it's these two.

The amount of Illinois' passing offense that Jenkins is responsible for is incredible.  As mentioned earlier, he has 68 catches, while the next closest player only has 22.

Again, Jenkins has already gone over 1,000 receiving yards, while no other Illini receiver even has 200.

He has caught seven touchdown passes, while no other Illini wide receiver has caught more than one.

Michigan needs to know where Jenkins is at all times, as Illinois isn't afraid to move him around and even line up in the backfield.

He is easily their most dangerous offensive weapon.

Prediction

This game is a complete tossup, and even though most won't agree, so was last week's game against Iowa.

Will Michigan bounce back after a tough loss in November and win another tough game on the road?

Because of the Michigan seniors and men like Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison, I'm going to say yes.

It obviously won't be easy, but I think they'll play a much better game than they did against Iowa and do just enough to win.

Prediction:    Michigan 28       Illinois 21