3 areas of attack for the Illinois football team against Michigan

3. Third down struggles for Michigan

Sustaining drives can wear down a defense. That is what Illinois needs to avoid on Saturday. Thankfully, Michigan isn’t good at putting long drives together.

This season, the Wolverines have struggled to convert on third downs. A team that averaged converting 42.77% of third downs last season, Michigan has only converted 38.96% of third downs in 2024. That dropped them down to No. 70 in the nation.

I love to hear that Michigan isn’t good at converting third down opportunities. While the Wolverines aren’t great at getting first downs on third down attempts, Illinois also has a hard time stopping third down attempts.

The Illini is allowing opponents to convert 48.39% of third downs this season. That is an awful number that ranks No. 116 out of 134 programs in the FBS.

What is one way to improve that number for the Illini? Go up against a bad third-down converting program like Michigan.

Illinois should be able to load the box more often on defense thanks to Michigan’s struggles through the air. That should help a lot when it comes to stopping the Wolverines on third down. The Illinois defensive line is going to need to play better as well. We haven’t gotten much out of them, but Saturday could be a nice breakout day for this group. I think Illinois has a chance to get Michigan off the field early and often.