Snap Reactions: Michigan D turning into team strength

Every Saturday during the Big Ten football season, BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart offers his Snap Reactions to all the Big Ten games. Get Dienhart’s thoughts from today’s earlier games here and read his analysis from Michigan’s 45-0 victory over Illinois in this post.

[RELATED: Dienhart: Go ahead and book that trip to Indy]

Michigan 45, Illinois 0
1. The Wolverines continue to roll and be one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten with a second conference victory in a row. Don’t you get the feeling that Michigan is getting hot at the right time and benefited from playing that tough early-season schedule. Up next: a visit from Michigan State.

2. I continue to be impressed with the Michigan defense. The unit entered the game No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 19 in the nation (311.8 ypg). Remember, the Wolverine defense was supposed to be a potential weakness entering the year. Now, it’s turning into a the squad’s strength. The last four games, the Wolverines have given up 13, 13, 13, 0.

3. That’s four losses in a row for Illinois. And none of the previous three defeats have been close (52-24 to Louisiana Tech; 35-7 to Penn State; Wisconsin 31-14) Will the Illini win again? Perhaps, as Illinois plays host to Indiana in its next game.

BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men’s basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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