Stock Up, Stock Down: Michigan falls to Illinois, program's future in question

A disastrous day for the Wolverines coming out of a bye week, and Michigan's coaching staff needs to be held accountable...

Matt Lounsberry | Oct 19, 2024

Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

In this story:

Michigan Wolverines

No. 24 Michigan came into Saturday afternoon prepared to set the tone for the remainder of their 2024 season, and it did just that. Just not in the way anyone in Schembechler Hall expected.

Following a 21-7 loss to No. 22 Illinois on Saturday, the Wolverines will fall out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in 54 weeks when the new rankings are released tomorrow. The Wolverines were outcoached, outschemed, outworked and outmatched by the Fighting Illini throughout the afternoon, and it raises serious questions about the future and direction of this program one season removed from the Jim Harbaugh era.

Michigan (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) has lost three games prior to the start of November for the first time since 2014, the year before Harbaugh arrived to resurrect the program. The Wolverines now look to be in free fall in his absence. We usually start with "Stock Up" in these recaps, but given the circumstances...

Stock Down

Sherrone Moore and coaching staff: This was a pathetic and embarrassing performance for Michigan coming out of a bye week, and that falls on the head coach first and foremost. Bret Bielema and Illinois' staff coached circles around Moore's crew, and it's fair to question the job status of each and every coach on the Wolverines' sideline at this point. That's not to call for Moore or anybody else's job immediately but there should at least be an evaluation of other potential options if this season continues to trend in this direction. There are certainly holes on this roster, most notably at quarterback, but there's still too much talent here for things to have gone this badly. Moore is 38 years old and a head coach for the first time. Should he be trusted to dig Michigan out of this hole?

Jack Tuttle: I was dead wrong about this latest quarterback change for Michigan. I thought Tuttle would come in and provide some balance to the Wolverines on offense, but he had a horrendous performance today against Illinois. The seventh-year senior threw for 208 yards and completed 20-of-32 pass attempts, but much of that was due to Michigan playing desperate on offense and Illinois being willing to keep things in front of them and coming up to tackle. Tuttle turned the ball over twice once again, with a fumble and an interception to match his fourth quarter against Washington. The graduate senior was also bailed out of another horrendous interception due to an Illinois penalty. Unless Michigan is going to trot true freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis out there this season, this team is out of options at the game's most important position. Davis Warren, Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle — none of them have been viable options for the Wolverines.

Michigan's offense line: The Wolverines' front was overmatched and overwhelmed today, particularly in pass protection. Michigan surrendered __ sacks to the Illini and allowed QB pressures in a variety of fashions: stunts, speed rushes off the edge, you name it, it worked for Illinois against this U-M front. What was once the strength of this offense has become one of the things that's held it back all season. The Wolverines' struggles in the pass game go beyond the deficiencies at quarterback and wide receiver — this O-line has struggled to protect the passer much of this season as well.

Stock Up

Kalel Mullings: After being mostly limited two weeks ago against Washington, Michigan's fifth-year senior running back looked like the guy we saw through the first five games again today. On another day in which the Wolverines' passing attack was non-existent, Mullings carried this offense with 87 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. I thought it was a mistake to not go with a heavy dose of Mullings to start the game. Illinois ranked 77th in the country in defending the run, and Michigan came out, threw two incompletions and went three-and-out on its first series. Mullings didn't even get the start tonight, another mind-boggling coaching decision.

Not much else: There's not a whole lot else to point to as a positive. Sure, Michigan's defense played well enough to give them a chance to win, but the Wolverines still had costly penalties and they struggled to contain the mobility of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. Michigan held the Fighting Illini to just 80 passing yards, a definite positive, but Altmyer ran for 48 yards on 10 carries for a score. In total, the Wolverines allowed 187 rushing yards and gave up 4.9 yards per carry. Hard to call that "stock up" for this defensive unit.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -