When this season’s Big Ten schedule was released two years ago, there wasn’t a lot for Illinois to like, and back-to-back trips to Penn State and Michigan were no exception. Both programs are among the conference elite, and both shoehorn over 100,000 fans into their stadiums.

Shockingly, however, a meeting with the Wolverines this weekend gives Illinois a very plausible chance to get the season back on track.

The Illini (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) are underachieving by most standards after a rigorous schedule led to two losses in four games. Missouri shredded the Illinois defense in a shootout win to open the season, and a barrage of miscues and penalties proved costly in a 14-point loss at Penn State last week.

“The game’s a game of inches, and when you’re at a hostile environment, you need to find those somewhere,” linebacker Brit Miller said. “We didn’t do that at Penn State, and hopefully we’ll learn from that.”

Both Missouri and Penn State are now ranked in the top 6, while Illinois is unranked for the first time since last November after falling to the Nittany Lions.

Yet the losses have magnified the Illini’s shortcomings on defense. Through four games, Illinois ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring defense and penalties, and 10th in rushing defense, total defense and turnover margin.

“People still don’t respect us. They still think that we’re the old 2-10 Illini, and we have to prove them wrong, starting this week,” Miller said.

Improving the kickoff coverage is also high on the list. Both Missouri and Penn State returned kickoffs for touchdowns after Illinois scores that appeared to reverse the momentum.

“We’ve got to get it corrected and we can’t let it happen … It goes back to guys doing the things that they are supposed to do and that’s my job; our job as coaches is to get them to do that,” Zook said.

Meanwhile, Michigan (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) remains a mystery. After losses to Utah and Notre Dame, the struggling Wolverines were all but expected to play dead last week against Wisconsin. Yet a 19-point comeback ultimately led to a 27-25 shocking upset of the Badgers, keeping Michigan well within the Big Ten picture.

Still, the Wolverines have been unimpressive on offense this season, averaging just 20.8 points per game while being ranked 114th in the nation in total yardage. Quarterback Steven Threet has struggled in his first season with Michigan, throwing two interceptions and three touchdowns, and completing only 48.8 percent of his passes.

Threet, a speedy dual-threat quarterback, was named the starter during the season after Nick Sheridan, a more classic pocket-passer, threw three interceptions in his first three games.

“With our struggles offensively, everybody looks really good when we get stacked up on our matchups, but I do think that our guys are getting a little bit more confident,” Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday.

Rodriguez was also quick to point out the caliber of teams Illinois has faced in reference to the struggling Illini defense.

“They have got a lot of athletes. They played some very explosive teams. Missouri is scoring against everybody, and Penn State is scoring against everybody. I don’t look a lot into that in them having a lot of weaknesses,” Rodriguez said.

Illinois hasn’t won at Michigan Stadium since 1999 and lost the last six meetings with the Wolverines. However, in order to stay afloat in the Big Ten championship race, the Illini will need to reverse the trend this weekend.

“I don’t know anyone’s going to go through the league undefeated,” Zook said. “We’ve got one loss now, and we can’t screw around obviously, but it’s a one game schedule, one game at a time. Hopefully we’ll play the way we’re capable for 60 minutes.”