NewsNo. 22 Illinois beats No. 24 Michigan 21-7 for its first win...

No. 22 Illinois beats No. 24 Michigan 21-7 for its first win over the Wolverines since 2009

By 
STEVE STEIN

Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Luke Altmyer threw for a touchdown and ran for another, leading No. 22 Illinois to a 21-7 victory over No. 24 Michigan on Saturday.

The Illini wore 1924 throwback uniforms to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Red Grange’s six-touchdown performance against Michigan on the day Memorial Stadium was dedicated.

Tanner Arkin caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Altmyer in the second quarter and raced 36 yards on a fake punt in the third to set up Altmyer’s 1-yard TD run.

Illinois (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) beat Michigan for the first time since 2009. The Illini had lost six straight to the Wolverines (4-3, 2-2).

Defending national champion Michigan scored its fewest points since 2014 and has lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2020.

Jabe Jacas had 13 tackles, including six solo and 2.5 of the Illini’s five sacks of Jack Tuttle, and forced a fumble.

Altmyer was just 9-of-18 passing for 80 yards. He also ran for 48 yards on 10 carries.

“This is what I came here for,” said fourth-year Illinois coach Bret Bielema. “I’ve heard so many times about things we haven’t done here. Leave the past in the past. Let’s move forward.

“For this first time, I felt like we had a home-field advantage today. I want today to be the standard. We had a crowd that affected the game.”

A sellout crowd of 60,670 turned out for the stadium rededication and celebration of Grange and the Illini’s 39-14 win over the previously unbeaten Wolverines in 1924. Grange, the greatest player of his time and known as the “Galloping Ghost,” scored four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes of that game. In a nod to him and his teammates, the Illini of 2024 wore uniforms reflecting the style of that era complete with helmets that had the appearance of leather helmets.

Tuttle, Michigan’s third starting quarterback this season, was 20 of 32 for 208 yards. Kalel Mullings rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown and Colston Loveland had seven catches for 83 yards.

Not including the pandemic season, Michigan is out to its worst start since 2014 after having made the College Football Playoff three straight years.

“Playoffs? That’s out of the picture for us,” Loveland said. “Now we just have to start wrecking people’s seasons. But this is unacceptable. We’re letting a lot of people down.”

The Illini opened the second half with Arkins’ long run on the fake punt. He grabbed the snap headed to punter Hugh Robertson and ran to the Michigan 16.

Altmyer’s touchdown four plays later, and Donovan Leary’s two-point pass to Zakhari Franklin made it 21-7. Leary, the Illini backup quarterback, was in for conversion play because Altmyer’s helmet fell off during his TD run.

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