Why Michigan’s ‘tough battle’ vs Illinois in 2022 still means something

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

For the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (4-2), they’ll be hoping there were lessons learned from their nail-biter 2022 matchup against currently No. 22-ranked Illinois (5-1).

It was a chilly day at Michigan Stadium on November 19, 2022 — the temperature was just 25 degrees with a real feel of just nine with 15 mph winds swirling. It was a brutal day to watch football at The Big House, let alone play in the game.

It was a game where Michigan running back Blake Corum injured his knee, requiring surgery that took him out of the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff.

The Illinois defense flew to the football all game long and made an abundance of hard hits. It was the definition of a smashmouth Big Ten Football game.

Michigan trailed 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but Michigan’s defense held Illinois scoreless in the final frame and the offense did just enough to turn a loss into a win. Jake Moody made three field goals in the fourth quarter, including one with just nine seconds left to put Michigan up 19-17.

Moody’s game-winning kick wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Isaiah Gash hauling in a clutch catch on 4th & 3 earlier in the drive. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema went on to criticize the officiating after the game saying he was “extremely pissed off” and “very angry” about everything that he perceived went against Illinois.

The win put Michigan at 11-0 on the season heading into a road matchup against Ohio State, a game they won 45-23 to finish the regular season undefeated.

On Monday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore reflected on the matchup. Moore was Michigan’s offensive coordinator at the time.

“It was a physical battle. It was physical at the line scrimmage. It was physical in the air. I remember it was super windy. We couldn’t throw one direction, so you can only run one direction because the wind was all over the place. It went down to the wire and I thought our kids fought to the end — offensively, defensively, special teams, Jake Moody hitting the kick to win it. It was a tough battle, and we know it’s going to be a tough battle down there. It’s a physical team that Coach Bielema does a great job coaching his program from his days at Wisconsin to now. So, we’re just ready for the challenge.”

Moore noted that it’s a different Michigan team and a different Illinois team. However, Moore anticipates Illinois to play with the same style as 2022.

“Coach Bielema does an outstanding job building the program, physicality, toughness, detail in what they do offensively,” Moore said.

Moore went on to call the Illinois defense “tough.”

“Physical defense,” Moore said. “You’ve got to be ready for that challenge.”

Part of the challenge will be starting out faster than they did in 2022 when they scored just seven points in the first half. Illinois will want to turn this into a bare-knuckle brawl once again. While Michigan has a lot of new faces on its roster than they did in 2022, they still have plenty of key pieces who were around for that game including Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings, Makari Paige, Will Johnson, Colston Loveland, and Kenneth Grant. These Michigan leaders, along with Sherrone Moore, are fully aware of what Illinois is capable of if they put together a cohesive game plan. It may be 2024, but the 2022 game still means something and has set the template for what we should expect to see on Saturday in Champaign, Illinois.