CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Juice Williams was supposed to take a seat at some point yesterday, but it would have been egregious for Illinois coach Ron Zook to make a switch just to stay true to his word.

Williams, the sometimes explosive, sometimes inefficient senior quarterback, produced arguably his best game of the season in a 38-13 win over University of Michigan. His execution of zone reads - in which he can either hand the ball off to a back or keep it himself - flustered the Wolverine defense as he netted 97 yards and a touchdown. It would have been 134 yards but he was sacked four times.

“That comes down to guys not having their gaps, some kind of technical errors,” UM defensive tackle Mike Martin said.

Williams set a Big House record for most yards accounted for in last year’s win over the Wolverines.

Frustrated with Williams’ disappointing season, Zook said during the week he intended to use redshirt freshman Jacob Charest for the second week in a row. That plan never materialized and for obvious reason as Williams submitted a number of impressive plays in the second half. He found a soft spot in UM’s defense in the third quarter to find Jeff Cumberland free along the sideline for 34 yards. Later in the drive Williams faked a handoff, rolled right, and tossed a two-yard TD pass to London Davis to extend UI’s lead to 21-13.

BOWL CHANCES: Four Big Ten teams have achieved bowl eligibility, and UM is one of three teams one win away. The conference has contracts with seven bowls, but unbeaten Iowa will not use one if it gets an invite to the national championship game.

The Wolverines’ (5-4, 1-4) best chance to get their sixth win is Saturday at home against three-win Purdue. It is unlikely UM will be favored in its trip to Wisconsin, or in its regular season finale at home against Ohio State.

UM was absent from the postseason last year for the first time since 1974.

“We’re not getting wins that we should,” cornerback Troy Woolfolk said. “We’re just playing for pride now.”

LEACH STARTS: Kevin Leach started at linebacker over Obi Ezeh, who had started 29 straight games before yesterday. The move was made to combat UI’s spread offense, according to coach Rich Rodriguez, who said “Kevin’s pretty athletic.”

Leach, who started against Eastern Michigan in place of the suspended Jonas Mouton, registered the first sack of the season by a non-defensive lineman and finished with 11 tackles - second on the team to Mike Williams’ 16.

GRAHAM GOLDEN: Much like last week’s loss to Penn State, Brandon Graham blocked a punt only to watch the Wolverines turn the ball over on the next play. UM took over possession at UI’s 13 after Graham’s fourth-quarter block, and Tate Forcier immediately lost a fumble.