Michigan Football news stats and stars from Illinois game

Michigan (4-2, 2-0) rolled over an Illinois (2-5, 0-3) team that didn’t have much fight in them. The final score was 45-0 and the game was all but over for most of the second half. The Wolverines dominated in the trenches and are firing on all cylinders right now.

3 Stars of the game

1.  Jake Ryan tallied a career-high 11 tackles to go along with 4 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
2. Denard Robinson carried the ball 11 times for 128 yards and 2 TDs. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 159 yards and 2 more touchdowns.
3. Kenny Demens notched 8 tackles, 1 TFL and an interception.

 3 key plays

1. On Michigan’s first drive of the game, Denard Robinson  hooked up with Jeremy Gallon on a 71 yard TD pass.
2. Denard Robinson capped Michigan’s first drive of the second half with a spectacular 49 yard touchdown run. That play put him over 10,000 career yards of total offense. It also gave Michigan a commanding 24-0 lead.
3. Devin Funchess did some sky-walking to haul in an 8 yard TD pass from Robinson. The freshman tight end is a playmaker.

Stat of the game

Michigan’s defense held Illinois to 134 yards and the offense rolled up 527 yards, including 353 rushing yards.

[Video: Michigan Basketball players discuss who will break a backboard first Jordan Morgan or Mitch McGary]

Random observations

• Kenny Demens seems to be getting better each week this season. He had a key tackle on a 4th down play and intercepted a pass in the 3rd quarter.
• Jake Ryan’s star continues to rise. He is relentless and was all over the field on his way to a career day with 11 tackles, 4 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
• Quinton Washington is a guy that Brady Hoke has talked about a lot for his improved play this year. Q had another strong game against the Illini with 5 tackles, including 1 tackle that went for a 7 yard loss.
• Apparently kick returner extraordinaire Dennis Norfleet can also return punts pretty well. His first career punt return came in the 4th quarter and he almost took it the distance on a 42 yard effort.

Random stats

• Michigan had 8 different receivers catch a pass, none of them had more than 1 reception.
• Michigan rushed for over 300 yards for the second consecutive game.
• Freshman defensive end Mario Ojemudia is a player I like a lot. He recorded his first career sack and fumble recovery against Illinois.
• Thomas Rawls showed good speed and strength on a 63 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter. He finished the game with 90 yards on 9 carries.

Unsung hero

Quinton Washington, I mentioned him above, he played a whale of a game on the D-line with 5 tackles and 1 TFL.

What it means

Team 133 is pretty darn good. The defensive gets better every week and Denard Robinson is a maestro directing the offense. Yes the Notre Dame game was a rough one, consider it a speed bump that is fading away in the rearview mirror. Michigan has the necessary ingredients to win the coveted Big Ten Championship.

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