Not everything is new with Michigan football these days.
- ROB MIGRIN/Daily
After Illinois quarterback Juice Williams set a Michigan Stadium record Saturday by runningg all over the Wolverine defense, it was clear that one thing has remained: Michigan still has trouble stopping mobile quarterbacks.
Williams dominated the Michigan defense the same way Texas quarterback Vince Young did in the 2005 Rose Bowl, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith did in the Horseshoe two years ago and Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon did last year.
Statistically, the Illinois quarterback did better than either of those guys. He racked up 431 yards of total offense, ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more. His offensive production was the best in Michigan Stadium history, surpassing the previous record of 403 yards set by Illinois quarterback Tony Eason in 70-21 Michigan win in 1981.
Williams won’t be the only highly talented dual-threat quarterback the Wolverines face. Michigan travels to Columbus Nov. 22 to face Ohio State and its mobile quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
You weren’t the only one: Many fans might have missed Williams’ finest moment.
On second and goal from the six-yard line, junior defensive end Brandon Graham came off the line of scrimmage and tackled Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure.
Graham started celebrating with a teammate.
The television cameras focused on that.
Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said once he saw Leshoure go down, he started looking what play to call on the next down.
“Coach Locksley thought I gave the ball to Mikel,” Williams said. “So I faked him out as well. That’s something we work on every day in practice.”
They all missed Williams calmly running into the end zone.
Injury report: From offensive line to running back and receiver, the Michigan offense has had injury problems.
This weekend, it was the coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator Calvin Magee fell Friday morning, underwent tests all day and spent the night in the hospital.
“They had concerns if there was any heart issues,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “They did a bunch of tests, and he was able to come over. He’s going to be fine.”
He was released in the morning and coached the game from the press box as usual.
In terms of player injuries, freshman defensive tackle Mike Martin left the field slowly near the end of the third quarter. He emerged from the locker room after the game with his left arm in a sling and said he expects to be practicing again soon.
The other two players apparently injured during Saturday’s game were sophomore cornerback Donovan Warren and redshirt junior running back Kevin Grady. Grady slowly got off the field after a kickoff, and Warren hobbled out of the locker room after the game and said he wasn’t 100 percent.
Stonum’s situation: Rodriguez suspended freshman wide receiver Darryl Stonum for Saturday’s game for a violation of team rules and would not elaborate on the length of the suspension.
Redshirt junior LaTerryal Savoy started in Stonum’s place and caught one pass for seven yards.
Stonum would not comment after the game.