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'Like' us, and you'll love the chance for Ohio State at Michigan football tickets

Ohio State is at Michigan on Nov. 26 for a noon game.

File photo

It pays to have friends if you want to be in Michigan Stadium for the Ohio State at Michigan football game but aren't a season-ticket holder.

Michigan hasn't won in the classic Big Ten Conference rivalry since 2003, but Brady Hoke is 8-2 (4-2 Big Ten) in his first season with the Wolverines and Ohio State is scuffling along at 6-4, 3-3 and has plenty of off-the-field issues.

Want to be there on Nov. 26 for the noon kickoff? Need a buddy who has tickets to spare?

Hello, friend.

Welcome to the AnnArbor.com U-M vs. OSU Ticket Giveaway Sweepstakes. We have four tickets for the Ohio State-Michigan football game, and you can earn a chance to win the random drawing by visiting the AnnArbor.com's Michigan Football News & Views page on Facebook by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, an Ohio State grad, says he holds no ill-will toward Michigan

Nebraska football coach on Michigan: Having been through all those games, and that rivalry, anytime you play Michigan you know you're going to be challenged.

Associated Press

If ever there were a candidate to be a Michigan-hater, it might be Nebraska coach Bo Pelini.

A Youngstown, Ohio, native, Pelini played at Ohio State from 1987-90, giving him two possible predispositions to dislike everything about the Michigan football program.

But Pelini, who will bring his Cornhuskers into Michigan Stadium on Saturday (noon, ESPN), isn't your average Ohioan.

"Growing up (in Ohio) I watched football like everyone else, but I wouldn't say I had venom for Michigan," Pelini said Tuesday while on the Big Ten coaches teleconference. "I actually visited Michigan (as a player)."

Lloyd Carr to receive Hall of Fame plaque at Nebraska-Michigan football game

Lloyd Carr

File photo

Carr, who coached for 13 seasons from 1995-2007 and compiled a 122-40 record, a national title and five Big Ten titles, was named to the 2011 Hall of Fame class in May. The formal induction of 16 players and coaches will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 6 in New York.

Carr will be presented with a plaque that will be displayed at Michigan. He is the sixth Michigan coach in the Hall of Fame, joining Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler, George Little, Tad Wieman and Bo Schembechler.

Michigan football team's first matchup against Big Ten newcomer Nebraska will have familiar feel, high stakes

Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez has passed for 10 touchdowns and rushed for nine this season.

Associated Press

Yet, the Cornhuskers will seem familiar this weekend — sort of like looking in the mirror.

The Wolverines face Big Ten newcomer Nebraska at noon Saturday on ESPN. The Cornhuskers already have made noise in their new conference, handing Legends Division frontrunner Michigan State its only league loss.

Now, No. 20 Michigan and No. 17 Nebraska have identical 8-2 overall records and are second in the division at 4-2. That means their game this weekend will have important divisional and bowl implications.

Ryan Van Bergen: Michigan's defensive line 'is better than any starting 4 in the country'

Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin (68) and defensive end Ryan Van Bergen (53) bring down Illinois senior Jason Ford during the first quarter of the Wolverines' 31-14 win at Memorial Stadium last Saturday.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

The Michigan football team's defensive turnaround is impossible to miss -- it's becoming one of the great national stories of the year -- but coaches and players have been slow to acknowledge they had arrived.

That's not the case anymore.

Two days after defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said the unit had returned to being a Michigan defense -- the highest honor he gives a unit -- Ryan Van Bergen took it a step further Monday in regards to the defensive line.

"We think our starting four is better than any starting four in the country," the senior defensive lineman said. "That’s our opinion. You don’t have to believe it, but that’s what we think and we expect to play that way."

Against Illinois, they did.

Notebook: Michigan football quarterback Denard Robinson is 'fine' after wrist sprain vs. Illinois

After leaving a game due to injury for the fourth time in Michigan's past five outings Saturday at Illinois, junior quarterback Denard Robinson returned to the practice field Sunday.

"He threw the ball very well last night," Michigan football coach Brady Hoke said Monday. "He's fine. He's just got a little sprain on his wrist, and he's in good shape."

Michigan's Ryan Van Bergen named co-Big Ten defensive player of the week for dominating effort

Ryan Van Bergen takes down Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.

The defense isn't quite there yet, but it is inching toward it thanks to Van Bergen's effort in the 20th-ranked Wolverines' 31-14 win Saturday at Illinois. The senior defensive lineman was a force, accounting for a career-high seven tackles and an impressive three sacks of running quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.

For those efforts, Van Bergen was named co-Big Ten defensive player of the week on Monday.

"It's great that the offense was able to lean on us in this game, because last year against Illinois, they couldn't," Van Bergen said of his team's dominating defensive effort a year after it allowed 65 points to the Illini.

"You should think we're a dominant defense, that we can be relied on. Michigan is going to be able to rely on its defense, it always has been, it always will be that way."

Van Bergen and defensive tackle Mike Martin complemented each other well against Illinois, helping to hold Illinois to minus-12 yards rushing in the first half and 37 for the game. Martin had a team-high nine tackles.

Analysis: Bowl outlook promising for Michigan football team after road win at Illinois

Michigan is in position to play in a prime bowl game, and Brady Hoke would like to see the Wolverines improve their position. "We'd like to have 10 wins," he said. "We have two guaranteed opportunities left."

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Big Ten had been unkind to road teams, but that was not the case this weekend.

That makes the Michigan football team's 31-14 win at Illinois all the more important to its postseason bowl prospects. A loss could have been devastating.

Road teams entered the weekend 9-22 in Big Ten play, but went 4-1. Michigan would have lost important bowl positioning if it would have lost.

Instead, the No. 22 Wolverines are 8-2 overall — their most regular-season wins since 2007 — and 4-2 in Big Ten play. It also keeps them in the mix atop the Legends Division, where Michigan State leads at 5-1 and Nebraska trails by a game with the Wolverines at 4-2.

Both those teams won on the road Saturday. Michigan kept pace.

Opinion: Michigan football team wins a game with defense, completing the work started by Greg Mattison

The Michigan defense converges on Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase -- a common occurrence during the Wolverines' 31-14 win on Saturday.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Greg Mattison stood there, in a tunnel near three warming team buses, addressing the media after a game for the first time this year.

He had to fight back tears to do so.

The Michigan football team's defensive coordinator has preached physicality and toughness, effort and technique since the moment he arrived on campus in January. They are cliches, really. Any football coach knows them well.

But Mattison promised that's all that was required to make an abominable Michigan defense a classic Michigan defense. One that, you know, defends.

So, minutes after the Wolverines polished off a 31-14 win against Illinois — a game they would not have won without their defense — Mattison couldn't help but be overcome by emotion.

Another slow start dooms Illinois in fourth consecutive loss

This story has been removed from our site after 30 days as required by our digital use agreement with the Associated Press.

photo gallery: Images from the Michigan football team's 31-14 win at Illinois

Story: Fitz Toussaint, defense carry Michigan football team at Illinois, 31-14

Denard Robinson goes down with another injury, but Devin Gardner picks up the save in relief

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For the fourth time in the last five games, Michigan junior quarterback Denard Robinson left a game due to injury.

Michigan football coach Brady Hoke said Robinson suffered a bruise to his wrist, and said, "he'll be OK" moving forward.

Robinson's injury was nothing new, but his replacement's performance seemed slightly different this time around.

"(Robinson) could've came back in late," Hoke said of his starter, who finished 6-for-10 passing for 92 yards, an interception and who fumbled twice. "But Devin was already doing some pretty good things."

Sophomore quarterback Devin Gardner wasn't spectacular in relief of Robinson, but he got the job done, ultimately closing out the Wolverines' 31-14 win Saturday at Illinois.

Grade the Wolverines: Rate Michigan's performance against Illinois

Here's your chance to weigh in on the Michigan football team's 31-14 win at Illinois on Saturday. Grade the Wolverines on offense, defense, special teams, coaching and overall:

Michigan evens road record with a victory against Illini

Final: Michigan 31, Illinois 14: Fitz Toussaint, defense carry Michigan football team at Illinois, 31-14

Fitzgerald Toussaint, center, celebrates with teammates after his fourth-quarter touchdown run. Toussaint ran for a career-high 192 yards against Illinois.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Michigan football team was a mess near the red zone, coughed the ball up three times and saw Denard Robinson leave another game due to injury.

But thanks to a throwback performance by its defense, none of it mattered.

No. 22 Michigan limited Illinois to 37 rushing yards, collected a season-high four sacks and yielded just 214 yards of total offense Saturday on its way to a 31-14 victory at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.

Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said it was a performance befitting of a true "Michigan defense," while coach Brady Hoke said the game served as redemption for a unit that's taken its share of lumps in recent years.

"That's all you heard about when I took the job here," Hoke said of Michigan's recent defensive struggles. "These kids worked hard and they've invested. That's the neat part.

"Defensively, for a lot of years, Michigan was known for Michigan's defense. And they want to represent that."

Today Michigan can even its road record with a win in Champaign

3:30 p.m. (ABC): Your mega guide to the Michigan vs. Illinois football game

Michigan players celebrate over Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase after stopping him from completing a 2-point conversion in triple overtime, giving the Wolverines a wild 67-65 win over the Illini last season.

AnnArbor.com file photo

WHO: No. 22 Michigan (7-2, 3-2) at Illinois (6-3, 2-3)

WHERE: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. today.

ODDS: The game is a "pick 'em," according to sportsbook.com.

SERIES RECORD: Michigan leads, 67-23-2.

LAST MEETING: Michigan won 67-65 in triple overtime on Nov. 6, 2010. (AnnArbor.com coverage)

Join AnnArbor.com for a live chat during the Michigan-Illinois football game

Join us for a live chat from the Michigan at Illinois football game. We'll fire it up at 3 p.m., which is 30 minutes before kickoff of the game against the Illini.

AnnArbor.com sports reporters Nick Baumgardner and Kyle Meinke will bring you updates from the pressbox at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., while Rich Rezler moderates the chat from the AnnArbor.com world headquarters.

See you there!

What to watch: Will Illinois' slow starts continue today against Michigan?

This story has been removed from our site after 30 days as required by our digital use agreement with the Associated Press.

Opinion: Face the facts: Michigan has not been a good road football team

In football, coaches are always looking forward to the next Saturday. It's part of their fabric to perpetually self-evaluate, to self-critique — to say you're not where you need to be, but you'll get there.

But there comes a point when you are what you are.

And, as difficult as it might be for coach Brady Hoke to acknowledge, his Michigan football team just might not be a very good road team.

3 to know: Nation's sack leader Whitney Mercilus to lead Illinois' powerful pass rush against Michigan football team

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase averages 265.4 yards of total offense in Big Ten games.

Associated Press

The Illinois football team allows just 280.11 yards per game and is the sixth-ranked defense in the country. Not bad for a team that has lost three consecutive games.

Michigan (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) is at Illinois (6-3, 2-3) Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. game (ABC), and these three Illini players are the ones to watch in what is expected to be close game.

65 points allowed? Michigan out to prove it plays a different brand of football in Illinois rematch

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is tied up against Michigan last season.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Sixty-seven. Sixty-five.

Two numbers you're not likely to see this weekend — or better not see, for the safety of Michigan football players.

The Wolverines won a memorable, triple-overtime game last year by that score against the Illini — and were thrilled with the victory, considering it qualified them for their first bowl game under former coach Rich Rodriguez.

If they give up 65 points in the rematch Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC), though, players better duck for cover.