No. 16 Michigan needs late surge to hold off Illinois 42-25

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Hassan Haskins ran for 125 yards and a touchdown, Zach Charbonnet added 116 yards rushing, and No. 16 Michigan needed a late surge to put away Illinois 42-25 on Saturday.

The Wolverines (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) built a 28-0 lead by halftime, but turnovers and ineffective offense helped the Illini (2-4, 0-3) cut the lead to 28-25 with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter. Dre Brown ran in from a yard out and then converted a 2-point conversion for the Illini.

Michigan responded with a long drive capped by Shea Patterson's 5-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Patterson ran for a score after Michigan forced a turnover at the Illini 1 to seal it for Michigan.

Matt Robinson, starting for the injured quarterback Brandon Peters, a graduate transfer from Michigan, was 16 of 25 for 192 yards and one touchdown for Illinois. He also ran for a score.

Michigan racked up 489 yards total offense to Illinois' 256.

THE TAKEAWAY

Michigan: Coming off a 10-7 victory against Iowa, Michigan's offense looked a lot better, but Illinois' defense can do that to an opponent. Michigan lost two more fumbles, raising its season total to nine lost on a total of 17 fumbles.

Illinois: Credit the Illini for coming back against a good defense with a backup quarterback, but the turnovers helped a lot.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Michigan could lose a little ground after a sloppy performance, but probably not much if any.

UP NEXT

Michigan: Travels to No. 10 Penn State.

Illinois: Hosts No. 8 Wisconsin.