Michigan Football Over/Under Scenarios Against Illinois

Michigan is expected to win big against Illinois but who's going to do what in the game?

Isaiah Hole

Most people are looking at Saturday's game as a walk through for Michigan with the Wolverines 22-point favorites against Illinois in Champaign. Illini head coach Lovie Smith has really struggled at the helm and, surprisingly, mostly on defense. It feels like Michigan should absolutely roll in this one but we can still keep our eyes out for a few things heading into the Penn State game. Here are some over/under scenarios to keep an eye on.

Over/Unders

Shea Patterson passing yards: 225

Michigan's senior quarterback is averaging just 210 yards passing per game this year and has been less than effective overall in a couple contests. Patterson should be able to throw the ball around against an Illinois defense that struggles against the pass but we've used the word "should" a lot when talking about Michigan's offense only for it to end up being "should've" at the end of the day.

Sacks recorded: 5.5

It's going to be awfully hard for Michigan to replicate the eight-sack performance it had against the Hawkeyes last week but they might just be able to against a bad Illinois team. It sounds like junior defensive end Kwity Paye could miss the game, meaning sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, senior defensive end Mike Danna, senior defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour and senior rush end Josh Uche will all get a lot of run. Throw in some speedy, blitzing linebackers and you could get another big performance from Don Brown's unit.

Quarterback rushing touchdowns: 2.5

Shea Patterson (3) and Joe Milton (1) accounted for four touchdown runs against Rutgers, and Illinois is almost as bad as the Scarlet Knights. According to offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, there's a read on just about every play, so the quarterbacks should have opportunities to gobble up some yards on the ground. Willy they find pay dirt four times like they did a couple of weeks ago? We'll see, but the QBs need to be a threat with their legs.

Michigan penalties: 3.5

Impressively, Michigan is only averaging six penalties per game and even more impressively, only three per game on the road. I don't expect the atmosphere to be very raucous in Champaign so the Wolverines should avoid noise-related penalties. As for all other varieties, so far so good, and I don't see it suddenly changing against the Illini.

Michigan score: 42.5

The Wolverines scored 52 against Rutgers, but it was at home against the worst team in the conference. Against Wisconsin on the road, U-M's offense was hapless. This week, it's another bad team, but it is away from Ann Arbor. Still, Michigan is favored by 22, which means a lot of people think they'll score some points. I actually think it's going to be pretty lopsided, but you never know on the road.

How do you think the game will play out? What are some other over/under scenarios you could foresee? Comment below!!!