Illinois Vs. Michigan. Halloween 2009.

So here we are moments before kick off. Illinois is hoping to stop the bleeding against a Michigan team who has shown signs of wearing down in past weeks. The question today is will it be Trick or Treat for Illini nation?
The score is 31-13 with 9 minutes left. I'm about to head down to the field, but I will have post game notes when the game is over... Here's to an llini holding on!

Jason Ford just fumbled inside the 10, and that isn't going to win him much extra playing time with Leshoure playing as well as he has.

The Juice is loose! I haven't seen Williams play this relaxed all season. He is running all over the place now that the long ball is back in play, and the defense can't stack the box.

Well what do you know... next play Forcier fumbles...

Tate Forcier is starting to look the way he has in some previous weeks near the end of the game... he is becoming very sloopy with he ball.

That's the end of the third quarter, and so far this game has been trick over treat... Don't get me wrong, it's a treat to be ahead, but the change in attitude of both the players and the play calling had me tricked in the first half. It's nice to have that feeling again where you are nervous heading into a fourth quarter.

The Illini offense has looked in the second half the way we thought they would all year. The play calling has been aggressive, and the offensive line has really done a better job at blocking after a few straight weeks of looking like swiss cheese.

Terry Hawthone is having a hell of a game. He ran down the would be 77 yard touchdown and just made a great play on 3rd down to force a punt.

The touchdown pass to London Davis makes this a 21-13 Illinois lead.

Juice with the long ball! This offense has woken up, or this Wolverine defense has gone to sleep... I don't know which it is, but even the play calling has looked more aggressive. Three passes and a big Leshoure run did most of the damage.

Mikel Leshoure is reading this isn't he? Since my comment about him not having a big day but working hard... 2 carries for over 100 yards... that's getting your average up!

Momentum? Illinois. A goal line stance, a 99 yard drive, and a three and out to follow it. This drive now becomes extremely important. We don't NEED points, but we really can't have a turnover or anything to get Michigan fired up.

Remember when I said Mikel Leshoure wasn't having a big game? Well the 70 yard run moments after that statement has me retracting my statement.

Mikel Leshoure isn't having a huge game, but I love seeing him fight for every extra yard. This guys is hard to bring down with one man because he uses his leg strength to drive forward.

The Illini defense just showed something we haven't seen in a while, and that's winning the battle up front. The Wolverines had the ball first and goal on the 2, and it took fourth and one to get the ball in... but on review Brandon Minor's elbow was down short, and the Illini get the ball at the one. What a great stand!

Tate Forcier is proving my point about making something happen on every play. The line broke down, and he tried to scramble but forgot to keep the ball close to his body. The Wolverines recovered, and on the next play Forcier hit his receiver over the middle for a 75 yard pick up.

Halftime. Illinois is very much in this game, but it's not just going to come to us. There are some adjustments to be made, but the biggest thing is that the offense needs to be let loose while the defense continues to get stops.

First play QB run. Second play option run. Third play sack. I think it's safe to say we got conservative... Safe... get it?

There is 1:39 left in the first half, and Michigan just hit another field goal. The score is 13-7, and I'm interested to see what the offense will look like here to close the half. Do we go for it, or do we get conservative?

The Illini as a team take poor angles to the football on defense. I have seen three times this game where a guy is pursuing the ball carrier and gets shaken pretty easily because they weren't taking the right angle.

Illinois is doing what most fans have complained about all year. There was a penalty for holding on first down, and the play calling got very conservative after that.

Tavon Wilson just made a huge third down stop in the end zone. These are the types of things that need to happen if Illinois is going to win this game. The defense may have given up points, but they look much better than they did on Michigan's first drive. Something to take away from this is the fact that we got Michigan to
4th down twice that drive, the first time was just called off due to a face mask.

Tate Forcier needs to learn to throw the ball away. He reminds me a lot of Juice Williams his first couple of years because of the fact that he tries to make a play on every snap.

Here is something good to take away from the first quarter... Illinois dominated the time of possession holding the ball for nine and a half minutes... The Illini haven't done that all year.

Illinois has been great with penalties so far in this game, but something to think about is the importance of making plays when they are there. Juice had Rejus Benn wide open inside the ten, but the pass came out funny and was well short of its target. The final result was a missed field goal by Matt Eller and no points for the Illini.

Junior Hemingway back to return a punt for Michigan. Rich Rodriguez sent guys to block the punt, and Santella put off a low line drive. When Hemingway ran up to catch it he stumbled a little, and the muffed kick was recovered by Illinois' Zach Becker.

Carlos Brown walks into the end zone from two yards out, and this game is tied at
7. The defense sure didn't show much that looked like it was working against the UM offense.

Michigan has done what they needed to do so far. Illinois opened up with a big drive, and Tate Forcier has done the same thing back. Forcier looks good when he is forced out of the pocket.

This crowd seems to be having a lot of fun today. The weather is as nice as you could have asked for, and the game started out with a bang. I hope this energy rubs off onto the defense... A big first half would go a long way towards a win. The Illini have come out of halftime with little to play for this season.

I loved the play call that got into the end zone. Rejus Benn is the type of guy who will do anything to get that extra yard, and this time it included diving head first into the end zone over two Michigan defenders. The Wolverines had no answer for the Illini on that drive.

Leshoure is turning into a starting back in a back by committee system.

Juice Williams looks great so far on this drive. He is hitting the short passes in stride, and that's been very effective.

Juice runs again. There have been a lot of people calling for more designed Quarterback runs, and today they are working early.

Illinois opens the game with the run. Not surprising. After a run up the middle went nowhere, Juice keeps an option after a great fake pitch. Big gain on the ground for Juice.

Michigan wins the coin toss, and Illinois will get the ball first. I normally like having the ball in the second half, but if Juice can come out here early and get a good drive going, maybe it will fire up the defense early. This team has given up a lot of points in the first half of football games.