5 massive observations from the Illinois football win over Michigan

3. The mistake battle played a huge factor

In any game, but especially in a game between two top-25 programs, mistakes can be a backbreaker. When you make just one mistake, it can change the course of the game completely.

On Saturday, Illinois didn’t just win the mistake game, but we dominated Michigan when it came to boneheaded plays. Illinois is usually on the bad end of the mistake battle, but not this time around.

There are two factors I look at in the mistake battle. The first one is penalties. Illinois and Michigan tied when it came to the number of penalties, but the Wolverines had 11 more penalty yards. So, Illinois won the penalty battle.

The other part of the mistake battle is the turnover battle. This is where Illinois made up the most ground. The Illini defense dominated Michigan and forced three turnovers while we failed to cough the ball up once.

Turnovers turned the entire game. Michigan would start to get going, but then someone like Gabe Jacas would come in behind and pop the ball out. Matthew Bailey also had a huge interception late in the game that prevented a Michigan touchdown and gave Illinois the ball back.

Not only were the Michigan turnovers backbreaking, but they were potential points taken off the board. Illinois did a great job holding onto the football, and at the end of the day, it changed everything.