Illinois football defense wakes up in the first half against tough Michigan offense

Illinois football entered one of the biggest games of the season and have lived up to the hype of this top 25 matchup.

This has been a great first half of football for the Illini. Both sides of the ball seem to be clicking, and the result is Illinois being up 13-7 heading into halftime.

I was impressed with what I saw out of Illinois in the first half. There were very few failures too. It was a complete first half of football.

Illinois football first half successes

• Defense responded

Last week against Purdue was disappointing for the Illinois football program. We weren’t able to stop the Boilermakers in the second half, as they torched us both on the ground and through the air. Illinois’ defense looks much better against Michigan thus far.

Michigan can’t get anything going offensively. Jack Tuttle hasn’t been accurate except for their final drive of the first half, and Illinois has been able to manage the Wolverines’ running attack. The Illini are being more aggressive tackling, and this has forced multiple Michigan turnovers. It is a complete 180 for the Illinois defense.

• Michigan’s defense can't handle Zakhari Franklin

Illinois has had a lot of special wide receivers come through those doors, and Zakhari Franklin can stand with any of them. He has been incredibly impressive since coming to Champaign, and Michigan doesn’t have an answer for him.

Well, I lied. The Wolverines did have an answer for Franklin. Make sure he doesn’t get behind the defense by taking a pass interference penalty. Franklin would have had multiple touchdowns in the first half, but Michigan pretty much tackled him and didn’t let him get to the ball. He is unstoppable right now.

• Luke Altmyer’s leadership is showing

There have been a few plays throughout the first half when things broke down for the Illinois offense. With an inexperienced quarterback, this can crumble an offense. Thankfully, we have Luke Altmyer.

Altmyer showed his leadership in the first half against Michigan. He had a play where the running back went the wrong way and both players collided in the backfield. Altmyer remained called, rolled out, and scrambled for a first down. The offensive line collapsed at times too, and Altmyer calmly stepped up and rolled out to get more time and to move the ball. He has been great in the first half.

Illinois football first half failures

• Conservative play calling on 4th & 1

I didn’t have too many first-half issues for the Illinois football team. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was when Illinois had the ball deep in Michigan territory and we went for it on 4th and one.

I was a fan of going for it, but the play call was to load up the offensive line and run the ball up the middle. A stout Michigan defensive line was ready for it. A better play call there would have helped.