Can Illini hold up in the trenches against Michigan?; A résumé-building opportunity

CHAMPAIGN — A week after a plan to defend Purdue quarterback Hudson Card required a pivot in the 23rd hour, Illinois is preparing to see at least two and possibly three Michigan quarterbacks on Saturday.

News that Card would miss the game against Illinois due to being in concussion protocol began to surface Thursday afternoon and into Friday morning. That led Illini head coach Bret Bielema and his coaching staff to make late-in-the-week adjustments for redshirt freshman Ryan Browne. A challenge, to be sure, and it partly resulted in a second-half disaster on defense that ultimately ended with No. 22 Illinois (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) narrowly eking out a one-point overtime win against the Boilermakers.

Illinois has prepared all week under the assumption it will see all three quarterbacks — starter Jack Tuttle and backups Alex Orji and Davis Warren — for No. 24 Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten).

“We’ve seen three and I would expect to see all three, to be honest,” Bielema told Illini Inquirer on Thursday. “Each one of them are very good players and have their own unique skill set. I would guess we see not only two but probably three based on scenarios with what they do well. As we learned last week, it’s about how you play every snap. Probably last week’s process is helping us with this week as much as anything.”