Michigan Football, Jack Tuttle’s Performance was ‘Unacceptable’ in Loss to Illinois

Following its 21-7 loss to Illinois on Saturday, Michigan football is unranked for the first time since the first week of September 2021. Senior Jack Tuttle got his first start at quarterback, and there was a sense of optimism that he could get the Michigan offense to where it needs to be. That feeling of promise was gone in the first half. 

Michigan produced two punts and two fumbles in their first four drives against the Fighting Illini. Michigan had almost 100 rushing yards in the first half, but it had less than 50 through the air. The Michigan offensive line has been anything but healthy, and Tuttle had to work quickly seemingly every time he dropped back. Head coach Sherrone Moore said after the game that he doesn’t want to resort to a fourth quarterback. 

“We can’t turn the ball over,” Moore said. “You don’t want to go to four quarterbacks. You don’t want to have to go through this process, but you got a guy that’s — got to take care of the football, so we’ll see what we gotta do, and we’ll have that conversation as we go.”

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Tuttle finished Saturday’s game with a quarterback rating of 22. Luke Altmyer of Illinois passed for just 80 yards and a touchdown, but he had a QBR of 68. It’s yet another example of how turnovers have hurt the Wolverines. Tuttle said it’s time to dig deep. 

“It is unacceptable, but all we can do right now is fight,” Tuttle said. “There’s no reason to panic in general about anything. We need to keep fighting and show some fricking grit for Michigan and the school and our team. That’s what we need to do right now, and we’re gonna keep doing that no matter what it takes.”

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