Here's a look at the biggest plays in Michigan's history against Illinois:

1. Todd Collins 90-yard TD pass to Derrick Alexander (1993)
2. Tate Forcier 76-yard pass to Roy Roundtree (2009)
3. Denard Robinson 75-yard TD pass to Roy Roundtree (2010)
4. Steve Breaston 74-yard punt return TD (2003)
5. Gil Chapman 73-yard kickoff return TD (1972)
6. Tony Boles 73-yard TD run (1989)
7. Amani Toomer 72-yard punt return TD (1994)
8. Scott Dreisbach 72-yard TD run (1995)
9. Denard Robinson 71-yard TD pass to Jeremy Gallon (2012)
10. Shea Patterson 71-yard pass to Ronnie Bell (2019)

Hit the jump for a highlight of Alexander's 90-yard TD catch.

I guess it's Tuttle time. After a couple drives of Alex Orji's version of the offense doing nothing (0 points), Michigan surprisingly inserted seventh year Utah/Indiana transfer backup Jack Tuttle. The offense immediately got a boost as Washington tried to adjust. Michigan rather quickly put up 17 points across the second and third quarters before doing nothing in the fourth. Tuttle completed 10/18 passes for 98 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also ran 5 times for 14 yards and lost a fumble. Orji completed 3/7 passes for 15 yards and ran 3 times for 11 yards before departing. The offense looked more cohesive and calmer with Tuttle behind center, at least until the end of the game, when Michigan was down a couple scores in hurry-up mode. I would imagine Tuttle's time on task has not been significant running a two-minute offense since he's been hurt for the past several months, but the game was out of hand at that point. Michigan was not going to get two scores in the span of a minute or so.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan is 10-5 against the Washington Huskies. They first met on November 4, 1916, which was a 66-7 win for the Wolverines. The last time they met was on January 8, 2024 in the national championship game, sealing Michigan's 15-0 season.

1. Tyrone Wheatley 88-yard TD run (1992)
2. Mike Sainristil 81-yard interception return (2023)
3. Rick Leach 76-yard TD pass to Curt Stephenson (1977)
4. Blake Corum 67-yard TD run (2021)
5. Blake Corum 59-yard run (2023)
6. Chris Perry 57-yard TD run (2002)
7. Tyrone Wheatley 56-yard TD pass (1992)
8. Tyrone Wheatley 53-yard TD run (1991)
9. Elvis Grbac 49-yard TD pass to Tony McGee (1992)
10. Donovan Edwards 46-yard TD run (2023)

NOTE: I'm having a tough time finding stats pre-1977, so if you have any resources/updates for me to mix into the post, let me know.

Hit the jump for highlights of Wheatley's 88-yarder, Sainristil's INT return, and Leach-to-Stephenson.

RUSH OFFENSE vs. WASHINGTON RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #34 in rush offense (194.8 yards/game) and #44 in yards per carry (5.13). Kalel Mullings has emerged as the top running back (77 carries, 540 yards, 6 TD) with Donovan Edwards (59 carries, 258 yards, 2 TD) still playing a big role as a backup. QB Alex Orji is the third-leading rusher, but he has just 55 yards on 22 carries since taking over as the starter two weeks ago. LT Myles Hinton is likely to miss the game due to injury, and naturally, he's Michigan's best lineman, so fifth year senior Jeffrey Persi will likely get the start on the left side. According to PFF, Persi is the second best run blocker of the linemen, so perhaps the drop-off there will not be too significant. The rest of the line has been overwhelming, but it will be interesting to see if Michigan's platoon of Dominick Giudice and Greg Crippen continues at center. Defensively, Washington is #51 in rush defense (121.8 yards allowed/game) and #58 in yards allowed per carry (3.74). Last week they gave up 184 yards on 33 carries to Rutgers, including 25 attempts for 132 yards and 1 touchdown by Kyle Monongai. The leading tackler is senior MLB Carson Bruener (6'2", 226) with 30 tackles, followed by fifth year senior WLB Alphonzo Tuputala (6'2", 230) with 25. The Huskies start five transfers, including two on the defensive line; head coach Jedd Fisch brought with him from Arizona a redshirt sophomore DE/OLB Isaiah Ward (6'5", 227), who is quite clearly undersized. Senior DT Sebastian Valdez (6'4", 305) is in his first season at the FBS level after transferring from Montana State.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Here's a roundup of the former Michigan player, former commits, and former coaches (or players-turned-coaches). NOTE: I will not regularly post updates about offensive linemen since stats are minimal and just posting PFF grades is kind of boring, but I did this week just to show who's playing where and what their opening day role was.

FORMER PLAYERS

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony did not play in a 27-21 win over Auburn.

LB Jeremiah Beasley (Missouri): Missouri (4-0) had a bye. Beasley has 2 tackles this season.

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 26/50 passes for 364 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in a 42-20 loss to Kansas State.

LB Semaj Bridgeman (Michigan State): Bridgeman did not record any stats in a 38-7 loss to Ohio State.

Hit the jump for more.

That's an ugly score. I didn't mind writing about a 27-24 victory when it came to the USC game, but I do have a problem with it after playing the Minnesota Gophers. In the game preview, I predicted a 38-13 victory. I had heard that Colston Loveland was likely to play, but I also assumed Will Johnson would play and I had no idea that Josaiah Stewart would miss the game. Regardless, Michigan has had some injury issues in past years against lesser Big Ten programs, and it didn't have a huge effect. Michigan had to hang on in a nail-biter here, and that doesn't bode well for the rest of the season.

Hit the jump for more.

RUSH OFFENSE vs. MINNESOTA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is now #31 in rushing offense (205 yards/game) and tied for #33 in yards per carry (5.57) with UNLV. The breakout star of this year's team has been RB Kalel Mullings, who had 17 carries for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns against USC last week, including a 53-yard touchdown, a 63-yard run to set up the winning score, and the game-winning 2-yard score on 4th down. Those numbers are made even more impressive by the fact that the all-new offensive line has struggled. Michigan received just a 57.5 run blocking grade against the Trojans. There has been some platooning going on at center between Dominick Giudice and Greg Crippen, but the personnel at the other spots has been steady. RB Donovan Edwards broke out with a 41-yard touchdown last week, and new starting QB Alex Orji ran 13 times for 43 yards and averages 4.4 yards/carry for the year. Defensively, Minnesota is #56 in rushing defense (123.5 yrds allowed/game) and #62 in yards allowed per carry (3.81). Last week Iowa's Kaleb Johnson ran 21 times for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns, and North Carolina's Omarion Hampton put up 129 yards in week one, albeit on 30 carries for a so-so 4.3 yards/carry clip. Redshirt sophomore MLB Maverick Baranowski (6'2", 230) leads the team with 27 tackles, followed closely by fifth year senior WLB Cody Lindenberg (6'3", 240) with 26 stops. Baranowski and fifth year senior nickel Jack Henderson (6'2", 215) lead the team with 2.5 tackles for loss each, chased by fifth year senior OLB Danny Striggow (6'5", 255) with 2.0 TFLs. The middle of the line features fifth year senior DT Jalen Logan-Redding (6'4", 290) and redshirt junior NT Deven Eastern (6'6", 310); Eastern has only graded out on PFF higher than 57.0 when he played against FCS Rhode Island, while Logan-Redding has a couple grades in the 70s balanced with sub-60 scores against the two Power 4 opponents.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.