Despite generating some offense during the second half, Illinois was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell 31-14 against No. 24 Michigan. The Wolverines were led by an outstanding performance from sophomore RB Fitzgerald Toussaint, who ran for 197 yards and a TD in the win.
Michigan managed to put together 2 TD drives in the fourth quarter despite an injury to Denard Robinson. The explosive QB left the game in the third quarter following a pair of hard hits from the Illinois defense. However, backup QB Devin Gardner threw a 27-yard TD pass to Martavious Odoms, which gave the Wolverines the momentum following an Illinois TD.
After a sluggish first half, Illinois QB Nathan Scheelhaase engineered a pair of TD drives to help keep the Fighting Illini in the game. Scheelhaase completed 16/31 for 170 yards and added a rushing TD in the loss. Jason Ford added a rushing TD for Illinois.
Michigan faces an enormous test next week when it hosts No. 19 Nebraska. Illinois will look to put an end to its four-game losing streak when it hosts No. 18 Wisconsin.
Stay tuned to Maize N Brew, SB Nation's Michigan Wolverines blog, as well as Hail to the Orange, SB Nation's Illinois Fighting Illini blog. SB Nation College Football has all the latest news and notes from around college football.