Takeaways from Michigan’s 41-8 victory over Illinois

Michigan moved to 7-0 on the season with a 41-8 win over Illinois on Homecoming in Ann Arbor.

Here are the takeaways from today’s game:

Options galore

Michigan has a lot of offensive playmakers on their roster and they just just about every one of them in this afternoon’s game. Twelve Wolverines touched the ball in the first quarter and 21 of them either had a catch or a rushing attempt by the day’s end.

Not only does quarterback Wilton Speight (more on him later) have a ton of options, but he is also doing a nice job of getting everyone involved. It is paying dividends both now and for the future when Michigan will be breaking in a lot of new starters next season.

Karan Higdon’s big day out

Higdon has been a pleasant surprise for the Wolverines this season considering how many running backs they have to choose from. He finished the day with eight rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown and he continues to look like Michigan’s most elusive back.

They won’t settle on a lead back anytime soon, but it is very impressive how they can come at you in so many different ways.

Locked in Wilton

Jim Harbaugh raved about Wilton Speight’s performance after the game and rightfully so. It may have not been his most impressive stat line, but this was as locked in as we have seen him all season. He was on the money with most of his throws and fit a few into areas where only his receivers could catch them.

This was about the time last year where Jake Rudock took off, so we will see how Speight continues to develop heading into next week’s game at Michigan State and heading down the stretch.

Defense keeps it up

What more is there to say about this group?

They continue to beat up on inferior teams with their smothering style of play and they did not allow a completed pass until the third quarter. There were a few chunk yardage plays allowed, but they largely kept it going this week.

Michigan heads to MSU now looking to not only win a rivalry game, but send a major message that flips the narratives back in their favor officially.