Week 8: Michigan at Illinois

This game lost some luster with Illinois’ loss to Iowa last week. That aside, this game still offers fans of both clubs an opportunity to examine just good their club really is. Can the Wolverines really challenge Ohio State? We won’t know until Nov. 17, but this will serve as their best test up to this point. Can Illinois compete for a January bowl bid? Maybe, maybe not. Beating Michigan would certainly sway the consensus.

But before those questions can be answered, a few injury concerns need to be cleared up by both clubs. Freshman receiver Arrelious Benn, one of the Illini’s most effective weapons, has been limited by a shoulder injury he suffered late in the win over Wisconsin two weeks ago. Not only will coach Ron Zook need his big receiver to go in this game, but he’ll need him at 100 percent. Not likely.

The feeling out of Ann Arbor is that Mike Hart’s ankle is nothing to be concerned about. We’ll see come Saturday, but if Hart is unable to go it will be a devastating blow for a team that has looked to the senior back for inspiration during rough patches this year.

Still, even if Hart is on the field, he will not be the key weapon for the Wolverines this week. The Illini rank 10th in the Big Ten in defending the pass, allowing 255.4 yards per game. Now that Adrian Arrington is out of the doghouse and Mario Manningham is back to his normal self (eight catches for 147 yards last week) the Wolverine passing attack should go crazy. Airing out the ball would also be good for quarterback Chad Henne, who has not attempted 30 passes since the Appalachian State debacle.

When it’s on offense, Illinois must try to get back to running the football after falling off-track last week. That means a heavy dose of Rashard Mendenhall. And fans should also expect more of Juice Williams and less of Eddie McGee at quarterback in this game. Williams is in need of a confidence boost after getting yanked late last week, and he presents a greater challenge to the Wolverine defense.

Run or throw, the Wolverine defense aims to be ready.

“I think in some of the games, they haven't needed to throw because they run the ball so well,” said Wolverine safety Jamar Adams of the Illini attack. “The passing game is definitely not something that we can relax about. We have to defend all phases of the game.”

And the Wolverine defense is playing its best football right now. After getting pasted by Oregon for 331 yards on the ground the Wolverines haven’t given up more than 135 rushing yards since. That’s an important stat considering Illinois leads the Big Ten in rushing yards, averaging 234.4 per game.

Don’t be fooled by last week’s loss -- the Illini are a good team … just not good enough to match up with Michigan on either side of the football.

Michigan by 4