Bo Knows Rose Bowl, but Illini Don’t, 24-10

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —  As usual, everything is coming up Roses for Michigan, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, Bo knows the Rose Bowl.

Michigan disposed of Illinois, 24-10, Saturday at Memorial Stadium, and while it didn’t clinch another trip to Pasadena, it helped. A lot.

“If we don’t win this game, we’re not going to win the championship, we’re not going to the Rose Bowl and we’re not going to get the things we want,” Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said.

Added Illinois Coach John Mackovic: “This was not a regular game, this was a big game.”

And with good reason.

Now, rather than depend on the kindness of strangers, third-ranked Michigan (8-1) will determine its own postseason travel plans. Beat Minnesota and Ohio State, and Schembechler returns to the West Coast.

It will be nice to see him again, considering his conduct on the sideline Saturday.

Schembechler sent what looked like a clipboard to an early death when quarterback Michael Taylor stumbled on a third-down play late in the first quarter.

Schembechler steamed when his Wolverines had eight penalty flags thrown their way during the course of the afternoon.

And Schembechler, who has undergone two heart operations, surely must have sent his cardiologist rushing for Valium because of the way the coach took exception to a referee’s call late in the third quarter. Suffice it to say that Schembechler’s sideline vocabulary was probably as blue as the Michigan baseball cap he wore.

What he should have done was sit back and enjoy a Michigan victory over eighth-ranked Illinois (8-2) that featured all the normal Wolverine ingredients: a running game that eats up opponents and the clock; and a defense that manages to confound, though, no one is quite sure how.

After giving up 10 points and yardage galore in the first half, the Wolverines put a choke hold on Illinois quarterback Jeff George and the Fighting Illini’s high-tech offense. George finished with 253 yards on 22 of 38 pass attempts, but he didn’t throw a touchdown, which was something of shocker given Michigan’s somewhat suspect pass defense.

Nor were there any fourth-quarter heroics, a George staple these days. Instead, George completed only three of seven passes in the final period, four if you count the interception he threw to Michigan strong safety Tripp Welborne with 2:12 remaining.

“At the start, they were sitting back in zones and we pretty much did what we wanted to,” George said. “. . . They had to change something.”

They did, but Schembechler wasn’t in the mood to disclose any state secrets:

“We made a few adjustments, but nothing I can tell you that will make for exciting reading.”

Make no mistake, the Wolverines were worried about George. He spent nearly the entire first half standing . . . and standing . . . and standing in the passing pocket, waiting seemingly forever for his receivers to find openings. Pressure was applied only on occasion by a Michigan defense that appeared more concerned with not allowing a long completion.

That explained why George was able to answer almost every Michigan first-half score with an Illinois score of its own.

--Michigan tailback Tony Boles broke loose for a 73-yard run on the second play of the game. (“I found a crease, and there I went,” Boles said.) Jarrod Bunch scored a play later.

Not to worry. George led Illinois on an 85-yard touchdown drive on its first possession, tying the score, 7-7.

--Michigan’s J.D. Carlson kicked a 47-yard field goal with 2:02 remaining in the first quarter.

George completed a 41-yard pass play to wide receiver Mike Bellamy on the next possession. The Illini’s Doug Higgins went on to kick a field goal of 25 yards to tie the game again.

Even when the Wolverines took a 17-10 halftime lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Taylor with 4:34 left in the second quarter, Illinois couldn’t have been too worried. The Illini had blown several scoring opportunities, but there wasn’t any reason to think similar chances wouldn’t be available in the final two quarters.

Michigan certainly wouldn’t have argued with the theory.

“I thought it was going to be a long second half,” Michigan free safety Vada Murray said.

It was--for Illinois.

It turns out that the Illini would receive only one other real chance to beat the Wolverines. It came with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

With fourth-and-one on the Michigan four and trailing, 17-10, Mackovic decided to go for the first down. George took the snap, dropped back and threw wildly in the general direction of tight end Don Donovan. Murray was there to knock the pass down.

An inventive play, it wasn’t.

“The tight end ran right into me,” Murray said. “If you don’t know it’s a pass then, you shouldn’t be playing.”

Said Schembechler: “On third and fourth downs, that guy George is the most dangerous guy they have on the team. If that quarterback is on my team, I wouldn’t second-guess that play at all.”

Schembechler might have been an extra bit forgiving. Mackovic is a close friend. Schembechler gave him his first coaching job way back when.

Also, Michigan won.

As for the rest of the game, it was vintage Michigan, with time-consuming drives over land. Boles finished with 115 yards. Taylor had 65 yards. Bunch had 66.

No Illinois player rushed for more than 47 yards.

“We controlled the game pretty much,” Boles said. “I knew if our defense stopped (George), we could win the ballgame.”