Michigan is coming into this game with a 4-2 record this season and they are 2-1 in the conference. They are coming off of their 1st conference loss of the season in their last game, losing on the road against Washington by 10 points. That was also their 1st road game of the season as well and it did not go well as their starting quarterback Orji was benched in the game and replaced by Tuttle. Tuttle was much better in the game, but he still completed 10/18 passes and threw 1 INT. They are coming off of a bye, but they are going up against an Illinois team that is 5-1 this season and has been tested by some tough games already. They are 2-1 in the conference with their only loss coming to Penn State who is ranked number 3 in the country, losing that game on the road 21-7. Their other road game this season was a gritty OT win against Nebraska, and now they are coming off of another gritty win in OT against a desperate Purdue team that played much better with a change of quarterback. Illinois has a very good defense and they will be looking to play better after last week considering how they allowed 40 points in the 2nd half alone. Michigan has not had a very strong offense all season either, the passing game will be better with Tuttle coming off of the bye, but are still going to be very reliant on the run game. Illinois has had a better pass defense this season, but they will be able to focus more on stopping the run in this game with Michigan struggling to throw the ball. Michigan also has weaknesses in their pass defense that can be exploited by Illinois' passing offense led by Altmyer who has been very good this season. They average 242.5 passing yards per game and Altmyer is completing 67.7% of his passes while averaging 8.5 yards per attempt. He also has 14 TD passes this season and only 1 INT so he has been taking care of the football well. Illinois will be able to exploit this Michigan defense at home and Michigan will struggle against this Illinois defense in only their 2nd road game this season. Illinois will cover the spread in this game.