Howdy readers! Big Ten football is once again here this weekend with No. 24 Michigan’s game against No. 22 Illinois. Week eight of the college football season holds many teams at stake, and it will be a turning point for some. We have Georgia against Texas and Alabama going to Tennessee. However, there is a lot on Sherrone Moore‘s shoulders as the Wolverines lost their first Big Ten game two weeks ago against unranked Washington. With a ranking of 131st out of 134 FBS teams in passing offense, all eyes will be on its defense. Meanwhile, a college football analyst predicts that Michigan will pull out a victory. Let’s find out what he has to say.

‘College Football with Sam‘ show’s host, Sam, shared his five points to support Michigan’s victory over Illinois. He started by saying that Michigan’s defensive line has been a standout this season, with their ability to pressure their opponent’s offenses and rushing capabilities. “Michigan right now is only allowing 76.3 yards per game, only allowing opponents to average 2.9 yards per carry, and they have a 5.56 sack percentage, which means on a little over 5% of their opponents’ dropbacks, they get to the quarterback, and they have 15 total sacks from the defensive line.”

Then he talked about Michigan’s offensive line improvements, saying, “Michigan right now is rushing for 191.3 yards per game, 5.1 yards per carry, nine rushing touchdowns, and the offensive line has improved every week.” This shows that their offensive line is progressively better with each game, and it’s going to set the stage against Illinois.

Sam pointed out the dynamic running backs of Michigan, saying, “Kalon Mullings and Donovan Edwards, who have 164 rushing attempts on the season and 92 rushing yards of the season, account for all nine of Michigan’s rushing touchdowns.” So basically, the analyst highlighted their ability to score and gain yardage.

But, is their a fix for the fixing issue for the offense? The passing game. It has been virtually non-existence. Sam explained how Sherrone Moore’s decision to switch the quarterback, Jack Turtle, for the Illinois game could be a smart move. “Turtle is a better passer than Davis Warren and Alex Orgy, for sure. He has, I think, more mobility than Davis Warren does, and he’s the most experienced.” Tuttle, being a seventh-year senior, if not anything, has had more time reading defenses. That could prove to be handy.

Moreover, he talked about Michigan’s superior depth and athleticism by saying, “Michigan, I believe, is a more talented team and has a better overall roster, and a roster that I think matches up better with Illinois.” Because of that, Michigan can maintain a high level of play throughout the game, especially in the second half when fatigue becomes a loophole. With that, let’s look at other details of this game.

How to watch Michigan vs. Illinois game

The intriguing game is scheduled for Saturday, October 19th, at 3:30 pm ET at the Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois. It is going to be streamed live on the CBS Sports app and will air on Prime. Do you know which team holds the highest odds of winning this game? Well, as per the predictions from the football power index computer prediction model. Woof! A never-ending name! Whatever, the model says that it will be a close game between these big ten rivals.

Besides that, Sherrone Moore’s team is projected to win the game with a majority of 59.5 per cent as per the most recent stimulations. On the other hand, Illinois holds a 40.4 per cent chance of winning the game. To sum up, Michigan is ahead with 11,920 of the computer’s simulations, and Illinois is behind with 8080 predictions.

The index says the game will be very tight on the scoreboard as well, with the Wolverines’ 3.8 per cent better hopes than Illinois. Moving forward, given Sam’s prediction pointer and the higher projection by the index, Michigan’s chances of victory against Illinois have become higher.