Quarterback plot thickens

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois' quarterback situation hasn't quite reached merry-go-round status. Ron Zook said Juice Williams remains his starter.

But the way Williams and redshirt freshman Eddie McGee took turns in the second half of Illinois' 27-17 loss to No. 24 Michigan on Saturday night, it appears McGee will have more opportunities going forward.

"That's going to probably continue to be a question throughout the year," Zook said.

Williams finished 8 of 14 for 70 yards. He threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Willis on the game's second play from scrimmage, then a deep interception on Illinois' final play from scrimmage.

McGee, who entered early in the third quarter and ran three of Illinois' final five series, completed 6 of 12 passes for 46 yards.

"We talked about it at length, (offensive coordinator Mike Locksley) and I," Zook said. "We decided we were going to try to get (McGee) toward the end of the first half, or sooner, but it didn't work out that way."

McGee apparently was scheduled to stay in the game during the second half but he was dinged on an option play early in the fourth quarter and sat out a series.

Replay, no replay: When the Big Ten pioneered the college game's usage of instant replay in 2004, Michigan's controversial night-game win at Illinois in 2000 helped to instigate its installation.

That 35-31 Michigan victory included at least two fumble calls that, had replay been available, would have gone Illinois' way and likely saved an Illini victory.

Seven years later, on another wild Saturday night with Michigan at Memorial Stadium, Illinois fans probably wished replay had never been invented.

That's because its existence enabled Michigan to grab a 17-14 halftime lead.

With 45 seconds left in the first half, Chad Henne fired a 14-yard down-and-out pass that Adrian Arrington caught with a dive in the left corner of the end zone.

The official waved the third-down pass incomplete, saying Arrington's arm landed out of bounds first. But Michigan bided its time, watched a replay in its coaches box and then decided to call timeout.

After reviewing the play several times, the replay official in the press box reversed the call.

A different option: One of Illinois' staples this season has been its big-play option attack led by quarterback Juice Williams.

It's perhaps the biggest reason the Illini started Saturday's game with the nation's No. 8 rushing offense at 243.4 yards per game.

But, perhaps fearing Michigan's defensive speed, Illinois stuck between the tackles most of the night and finished with 137 rushing yards on 31 carries.

The Illini never ran the option outside until their first second-half possession, when Michigan's defenders strung out the play and dumped Rashard Mendenhall (18 carries, 85 yards) for a 1-yard loss.

Locksley said they worked the option in a different way than what Illini fans have become accustomed.

"We still executed our zone-read option," Locksley said. "The ball didn't have to get pitched today because of the way they played us, so we were able to hand it off (inside)."

Stacked deck: Former Illinois coach Ron Turner used to complain that Michigan and Ohio State perpetually benefited from the referees' largesse.

On Saturday night, Illinois was flagged for the game's first 8 penalties totaling 77 yards and finished with 10 for 107.

Michigan earned its first penalty early in the fourth quarter when defensive end Tim Jamison roughed quarterback Eddie McGee.

"The bottom line is they beat us 27-17," said senior middle linebacker J Leman. "I don't feel cheated at all."