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Bret Bielema focused on red zone as Illinois leads Michigan at half
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Bret Bielema’s Illinois team has 2 quarters to go to knock off the defending national champions.
No. 13 Illinois has a 13-7 advantage over No. 24 Michigan at the break in Champaign. Though the Illini have the lead, Bielema has concerns about points left on the field.
“We got to take advantage when we’re in the red zone,” Bielema said at the half. “We got to come up with more than field goals, field goals don’t win games. Obviously, the last one got blocked off the left edge, I think we were a little low on the kick. We’ve got to maximize our opportunities.”
The Illini had 6 possessions in the 1st half, scoring 3 times. Illinoi was able to take advantage of 2 Michigan fumbles, converting those turnovers into 10 points.
Bielema’s team is leaning on the ground game, gaining 116 yards on 22 rushes. Quarterback Luke Altmyer is the leading rusher with 7 carries for 47 yards, including a long of 17. Altmyer has thrown 13 times, completing 8 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The teams are statistically tight in the boxscore, with Illinois having a total yardage advantage of 184-142 and leading time of possession 16:03-13:57.
Illinois has lost its last 6 meetings with Michigan from 2010 to 2022. The Illini’s last win over the Wolverines came in 2009 in Champaign.
The game is airing on CBS.
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.