Tate: This was a reversal of Illini fortunes
CHAMPAIGN – Rich Rodriguez stopped by Saturday and took Ron Zook's "hot seat" back to Ann Arbor with him.
It's an old story. No matter how serious your problems, someone else is worse off.
In Rodriguez's two seasons at Michigan, Illinois has outscored his Wolverines by 50 points, 83-33. Saturday's historic 38-13 romp – only the second defeat of Michigan here in 52 years – ended the UI's stretch of nine straight Division I-A losses and painted the upcoming Minnesota and Northwestern games with a brighter brush.
If Illinois has had officiating disappointments in the past, particularly in the pre-review season of 2000 when two game-deciding fumbles were miscalled, this wind-blown triumph turned on two reversals of apparent Michigan touchdowns. Michigan twice was prepared to kick the placement for a 20-7 third-quarter lead. However, the first replay showed that receiver Roy Roundtree came down a yard short on a rundown tackle by Terry Hawthorne. And four plays later, at the conclusion of a miraculous goal-line stand, the review showed that Brandon Minor's elbow hit inches short of paydirt.
Football is a game of turnovers (Michigan had three, Illinois none) and emotion, and those fortuitous plays unleashed a level of surging spirit that had been dormant during the UI's first six losses.
Boos turn to cheers
Midgame experiences have been bad for the Illini. And boos emanated from crowd of 60,119 as Michigan cashed two field goals for a 13-7 lead before halftime. The last three UI possessions ended three-and-out with Juice Williams sacked for minus-9 each time. Of the UI's 94 halftime yards, 82 came on a perfectly executed opening drive.
Who released the genie from the halftime bottle? Who created those truck-sized holes in the Michigan defense?
All of a sudden, everything worked. Offensive coordinator Mike Schultz's ground attack nearly put three Illini over the 100-yard mark with a 377-yard overland explosion. Jeff Cumberland, moving to tight end Monday after the 1-2 regulars were sidelined, caught two Williams strikes for 51 yards. Chris James came out of hibernation with a brilliant 37-yard reception ... and it happened so stunningly that the Illini must have thought they were playing Illinois State.
"They made me look right today," Schultz said. "After Hawthorne's rundown tackle and the goal-line stand, we converted a first down and hit the pass to Cumberland (17 yards). Then we were off and running."
No kidding! Leshoure raced straight down the field for 70 yards as Illinois completed a TD drive of 99 yards, 2 feet and 6 inches. Illinois led 14-13, held Michigan without a first down and traveled 79 again with Leshoure darting for 27, Cumberland catching a 30-yarder and Williams fooling everybody with a 2-yard TD pass to sub tight end London Davis. On they rolled, putting up a TD and a field goal on the next two possessions, and capping it with a 79-yard TD run by Jason Ford.
Charging forward
This was the Leshoure of 2006, his junior year at Centennial when he was the best prep runner in these parts. He slammed for short yardage and he accelerated through gaping holes for 150 yards, the most by an Illini against Michigan since Bobby Mitchell ran for 173 in 1955 and J.C. Caroline posted 184 in 1953.
"Leshoure ran harder today than ever before," Zook said. "He sticks it up in there."
Illinois never has had three runners top 100, and narrowly missed with Leshoure at 150, Ford at l28 and Williams falling back to 97 due to 37 yards in losses. Michigan was outmuscled and outmaneuvered. The Illini threw 11 passes.
"I give credit to Juice on the 70-yarder because he faked out the safety," Leshoure said. "That stop on the 1-yard line gave the whole team energy. I tried to get every yard I could. A good running back gets yards after contact. I kept moving."
Except for the second-quarter lull, this was the old Juice Williams. Zook was prepared to send in Jacob Charest in the third quarter, but the 99-yard march changed that, and Williams kept directing the Illini into scoring position.
And in the north stands, the young men with the "Fire Zook" grocery bags over their heads changed to "Hire Zook" in the fourth quarter. That's how quickly the mood changes. Michigan travelers came here Saturday expecting the five-win Wolverines to earn bowl eligibility. They better get it against Purdue next weekend in Ann Arbor because the odds will be against them in the finales with Wisconsin and Ohio State. This isn't the Michigan of old. This is renovated Michigan, and it has lost its defensive mojo.
Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.
mlm....while you were gloomily compiling your stats, I was happily rewatching the game on DVR. My spirits perked right up, my day will be better, and my week will be great. I'll have hope all next week. You'll carry your little dark cloud over your head. No matter what each of us says or does, what will happen, will happen, next Saturday. I prefer to spend my week MY way. (I'll bet you are a riot at parties, too.)
mlm, you went to all that trouble to compile a long list of stats when the entire story of this game was about what goes on between the ears. Hawthorne made a great play, and it inspired his teammates to play with a passion and intensity that we haven't seen in a long, long time.
Now we have to see what happens next week at Minnesota. Will the memory of the type of intensity that is required to play winning football carryover to a road game, or will the Illini revert back to the efforts we saw at Indiana and Purdue?
We know it's been a bad year but this victory was so sweet because it is so rare. 2 home victories in 52 years again Michigan. Come on! Add the manner in which the team scored 31 unanswered points to the rare game in which the Illini offense had zeo turnovers, and well, I prefer to dwell on the positive for this week, give Tivo a workout and enjoy it.
Dear Loren, Since we beat MI Sat. and stopped the slide into football oblivion, and because I am superstitious, please write another "Dear Coach Zook" letter informing the coach of why it is important to beat Brewster and MN this coming Sat. The outcome of the game hangs on your words Loren. Any reason or set of reasons you make up will do the trick. Thanks!
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