Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia looks ahead to Michigan football's road contest against Illinois in a top-25 matchup on Saturday in Champaign, Illinois, on the heels of its first bye week of the season.

Next up for Wolverines: Illinois Fighting Illini

Matchup: No. 22 Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 21 Illinois (5-1, 3-1).

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

TV/radio: CBS; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Line: Wolverines by 1½.

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Know the foe

Illinois appeared to be in look-ahead mode Saturday and as a result it barely escaped a lousy Purdue team in overtime, 50-49. The Illini were up 27-3, then fell behind in the final minute, only to kick a tying field goal as time expired and win in overtime after the Boilermakers failed on a 2-point conversion.

Illinois has wins over Kansas and Nebraska on the road. Even the Illini's loss, 21-7 at undefeated Penn State (now No. 3 in the country), was tight until the final moments.

Illinois is tied for No. 49 in scoring (31 points per game) and No. 76 in total offense (382 yards per game), and appears more likely to attack through the air than on the ground, not only because that's its strength, but also because it's the Wolverines' weakness. Illinois enters play with the No. 58 ranked passing attack (242.5 yards per game) and the No. 87 rushing offense (139.5 yards per game). U-M is No. 3 in the nation in run defense (76.3 yards per game) but No. 110 in pass yards allowed (259.8 yards per game).

Quarterback Luke Altmyer has completed 111 of 164 passes (67.7% completions) for 1,426 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception. His top target is Pat Bryant, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who has 27 catches for 452 yards and seven touchdowns; that's more than all of U-M's receivers combined. Running back Kaden Feagin has rushed 67 times for 306 yards (4.6 per carry) and three scores, but missed the Purdue game with an injury.

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On defense, Illinois is No. 33 in scoring defense (20 points per game), No. 43 in pass yards allowed (197.3 yards per game) and No. 77 in rush defense (149.2 yards).

Three things to watch

Offensive changes: Jack Tuttle is now the starting quarterback after the offense has cycled through Davis Warren and Alex Orji through the first six weeks. Coach Sherrone Moore said Tuttle "gives us the best chance to win" evidenced by him completing three passes of 15 yards or more in just three quarters of play, more than Orji in all three starts combined. The seventh-year quarterback hadn't practiced all offseason as he worked his way back from multiple injuries which prevented him from throwing for a time. Now has has game action to pull from, and the team has more than a week to install a game plan vs. Illinois.

U-M now knows what it has — a standout running back and tight end — and what it does not have — a passing game that has failed to push the ball deep down field and lacks wide receivers who can make game-changing plays. The formula to win should be ball control, avoid turnovers and create possessions which end in kicks (extra points, field goals or punts) so the defense isn't defending short fields. It sounds simple, but now that the offensive line has found some rhythm, it's time to see what the U-M offense can look like.

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Health updates: Michigan was without two key starting offensive linemen against Washinton, left tackle Myles Hinton and center Dominick Giudice, replaced by Jeff Persi and Greg Crippen, respectively. While those are key injuries, it's the defensive side which could really use reinforcements.

The secondary was down five players in Jaden Mangham, Micah Pollard, Aamir Hall, Ja'Den McBurrows and of course, Rod Moore. The Wolverines never ruled out his return this season, so it will be interesting to see if there's any update on his prognosis halfway through the regular season. Starting edge Derrick Moore, rotational linebacker Jimmy Rolder and depth running backs Jordan Marshall, Leon Franklin and Bryson Kuzdzal all were ruled out of the Week 6 loss at Washington, too.

Mental makeup: The program lost one regular-season game the past three seasons prior to this fall, so it's easy to understand if there's a bit of shock inside the walls of Schembechler Hall. Here comes the rest of the schedule, which includes four games remaining against ranked teams. “It’s been hard, especially we’re not used to losing, especially two games in one year,” defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny said Tuesday. “The biggest thing is just trying to keep everybody focused because everybody is not used to losing. Trying to get everybody back on board to where we can regain their focus, to where you know they understand that we got more games to play.” That starts this week against Illinois which has had this U-M game circled for some time.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What Michigan football faces at No. 21 Illinois in Big Ten matchup