Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from narrow road victory at Illinois

2. Shea Patterson remains inconsistent

Part of Michigan’s struggles on offense have centered on Wolverines quarterback Shea Patterson. The Ole Miss transfer, in his second season leading the Michigan offense, has been merely mediocre through the first five games of the year even as his team got out to a 4-1 start in the standings.

That all changed in Champaign, as he finally put it all together for a standout performance. Through the first half of the game at Illinois, Patterson posted a mind-blowing passer efficiency rating of 218.3 as he distributed the ball around to his receivers. Patterson had 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns by the intermission on 7-of-12 passing, averaging 12.5 yards per attempt despite a sub-60-percent completion rate.

Things tapered off some in the second half, though, as Patterson went just 4-of-10 for 44 yards against the Illinois defense. He did add 17 rushing yards over the course of the game, including a 10-yard scamper on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter to set up his third touchdown pass of the game and also getting a rushing score to go with his three passing strikes.

By the final whistle, though, Patterson’s passer efficiency rating dropped more than 50 points from the halftime mark. Ultimately a win is a win, but it is going to offer little confidence for either the team, coaching staff, fans, or the voters in the major polls.