CHAMPAIGN — Aidan Laughery opened Illinois’ first drive of the second half with a 3-yard rush up the middle. Two incompletions from Luke Altmyer, targeting Zakhari Franklin and Pat Bryant, of course, followed.
So the Illini sent Hugh Robertson out to punt on fourth-and-7 from its own 48-yard line. At least that was the assumption. One Michigan clearly made. The reality was a little different. The fake punt Illinois coach Bret Bielema first wanted to run three weeks ago at Penn State was coming.
“I was out there already on offense so I was kind of gassed a little bit,” Illinois tight end Tanner Arkin said. “They came on and were like, ‘We’re running the fake.’ Got to lock in.”
Arkin, who is part of Illinois’ punt shield along with Henry Boyer and T.J. McMillen, received the snap from Lane Hansen instead of Robertson. The Illini punter sold it exceedingly well as a bad snap over his head. While that bit of trickery was happening, Arkin was rushing upfield for a 36-yard gain to the Michigan 16-yard line.
Four plays later, Altmyer scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
“That was (Robertson’s) main job on that just to sell it, and we all executed perfectly,” Arkin said. “It was a great look. (Boyer and McMillan) opened up a massive hole, and all I had to do was run and get a first down. Two perfect blocks by them that kicked out both of the guys on the edge and allowed me to run right through them.”
Bielema said he put the idea to run the fake punt in special teams coordinator Robby Discher and senior special teams assistant Chris Hurd’s heads at the end of the first half. If the situation presented itself with the right spot and right field position, the call was coming.
“If it was one game we were going to run it, I would have guessed it would be Michigan,” Arkin said. “Coach B. was saying all week we were going to run it. We practiced it every day. ... It was a perfect look. A look we had been practicing all week, and we’d had in the chamber for a while now.”
★ ★ ★
Altmyer successfully executed his quarterback sneak early in the third quarter and popped up out of the combined pile of bodies with his mullet flowing free. (Remember that. It mattered).
Altmyer’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Illinois a 19-7 lead with nine minutes, 16 seconds left to play in the third quarter after two earlier David Olano field goals and a touchdown pass from Altmyer to Arkin. It also prompted Bielema to go for a 2-point conversion after the Altmyer’s sneak and score.
But it would be a 2-point conversion without Altmyer. Because his helmet came off on the play, he was forced, by rule, to sit out the next. Illinois turned to Donovan Leary, who hadn’t taken a snap since the season opener against Eastern Illinois. And those snaps were fairly inconsequential in a blowout win.
This one wasn’t. Leary delivered.
The redshirt sophomore backup connected with Franklin in the back of the end zone, giving Illinois a 21-7 lead it would hold for the rest of the game.
“I don’t think anybody in the stadium or our program was more excited for that,” Altmyer said. “I had no doubt we were going to go execute, and that he was going to execute and do his job. A stone cold killer. A guy who’s going to have tremendous success in his future. He threw a dot. Really cool. I know he’ll remember that moment for as long as he lives. So will I.”
★ ★ ★
Illinois was one of the leading teams in the country with eight takeaways in its first two games. That number stagnated in the weeks to follow. And after Torrie Cox Jr.’s interception in the end zone at Nebraska, the Illini didn’t notch a single takeaway at Penn State or last week against Purdue.
That changed Saturday against Michigan. Matthew Bailey picked off Wolverines quarterback Jack Tuttle and forced a fumble recovered by fellow safety Miles Scott. Gabe Jacas also forced a fumble that was recovered by Malachi Hood, while TeRah Edwards nearly made it three with a strip sack on Tuttle the Michigan quarterback was able to snag first.
“It was a huge emphasis that when we have takeaways the game is not as close as when we don’t have takeaways,” Bailey said.
Scott also had an interception — that he nearly turned into a pick-six — called back because of an Illinois penalty. The Illini’s ability to slow down the Michigan run game had Tuttle putting the ball in the air more and, consequently, putting it in jeopardy more often.
“I think that’s all to the big guys up front,” Bailey said. “They played their game. They played physical, they played fast and they took advantage of those opportunities. Because of that, when you don’t win on early downs as an offense, that makes you put the ball in the air. They did their job and gave us the opportunity.”
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Illinois wasn’t able to quite match its season high of six sacks from its overtime win at Nebraska, but five against Michigan was a close second. Jacas led the Illini with 21/2 sacks, and Edwards also had two rare sacks out of his nose tackle position.
“Me getting home (for the sacks) felt like a surreal feeling because I always grew up watching (Michigan) and rooting against them,” said Edwards, who’s from Groveport, Ohio, just outside of Columbus. “It was just trusting my technique and going out there and making the plays that came to me and doing my job consistently. ... We talked about it all week. I might have some guys crash down on me, but when you get your chance, you’ve got to take your shot because not too many times you get those opportunities.”
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Michigan ranked third in the country in rushing defense before Saturday’s game allowing just 76.3 yards per game on the ground. How a shorthanded Illinois backfield would fare against the Wolverines’ defensive front was one of the more impactful matchups going into the game.
Because Illinois wants to run the ball. It’s at the heart of what Bielema wants from his program (along with stopping the run and covering kicks). Even if it hasn’t happened consistently this season.
There were moments of inconsistency in the run game again Saturday, but Illinois still wound up rushing 38 times for 187 yards as a team. A total bolstered by Arkin’s fake punt but also five other chunk plays that included a 29-yard run by Laughery and a 17-yard Altmyer scramble.
“The one thing I can think of is strain, execution and play calling, I guess, with (offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.) putting us in good position to make it happen in different schemes we hadn’t shown all year,” Altmyer said about Illinois’ rushing success. “Michigan’s front seven — really their whole defense and scheme — is one of the best in the country. To be able to go do it on the ground — a lot of people thought we’d do it in the air this game — but to find a way to go do it is really cool.”
★ ★ ★
Kaden Feagin wasn’t just out of town this weekend. That’s the way Bielema described the Illinois sophomore running back’s status earlier in the week.
Feagin was actually out of town getting hip surgery. The former Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond star suffered a left leg injury in practice the Tuesday before the Purdue game and spent the last week-plus getting evaluated by doctors across the country.
The final decision was surgery, which Feagin had Friday.
“I texted with him and his mom (Friday) night and called him (Saturday) morning, and he was already up walking with a walker,” Bielema said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s a great visual. I imagine you in this white gown with your fanny hanging out the back walking around with this walker.’ He was like, ‘Coach, that’s exactly what’s going on right now.’”
The word on Feagin’s surgery was positive. Bielema said that was the feedback from the doctors and from Feagin’s mom, Jennifer.
“Unfortunately, he won’t be with us this year,” the Illinois coach said. “I don’t know if he’ll be with us in the spring, but the goal and intention is to be with us in the fall and have a complete recovery.”
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