The Michigan Wolverines (5-4, 3-3) will head to Bloomington to face the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) in a Week 11 college football matchup. The Hoosiers are currently having the best season in program history, and will look to use this game as one final stepping stone to their big matchup in Columbus.
Meanwhile, Michigan remains one game away from bowl eligibility; and derailing a high-ranked team’s season would be a significant accomplishment for this year’s team. Currently, Indiana is a 14-point favorite.
Michigan Wolverines vs. Indiana Hoosiers Football History & Excerpts
Michigan has won every matchup against Indiana since 1987, with their lone loss during that span coming during the 2020 season. Overall, the Wolverines have a 58-10 record against the Hoosiers football program.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore credited the job Indiana has done.
“For them, they just did a really good job of bringing in the right guys, the right people,” began Moore. “I think [Indiana head] coach Cignetti has done an unbelievable job with building the program how he has – he has done it before and done it in the past.”
Indiana football is having its best season ever, and the reason for that is Curt Cignetti. Preparing for Indiana is going to be an extremely tough test for the Wolverines. While Michigan may be the more talented, Indiana shows that they are one of the best-coached teams in the country week in and week out.
Coming in from James Madison, Cignetti wasn’t given high expectations. In fact, Indiana was projected to finish in the bottom in the Big Ten, with most reporters writing them off before the season started. However, he rebuilt the program in just one year; bringing in 27 transfer players with multiple years of starting experience and keying on developing young talent.
From one of the worst teams in the Big Ten to a top team in the country, Indiana is looking to make major noise this season.
Speaking to the media this week, Cignetti said, “I look at them [Michigan] and I see a really good defense, really good special teams. And offensively, they haven’t scored points. They’re not in the 40s and 50s. But they can run the ball from 11, 12 and 13 personnel. They’ve got weapons, they’ve got good backs. They’ve got good players, and they’re a good football team coming in here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and it’s part of the reason it’s on national TV at 3:30. To meet that challenge, we’ve got to have a great week of preparation.”
Indiana is an incredibly talented football team that is playing some of the best ball in the entire country. In short, the Michigan Wolverines may have their hands full in this football game.
Key Players for Michigan
Davis Warren has put together two solid weeks of football and will look to continue that success over the next two weeks. He has to be able to put the offense on his back, and score points.
And, while running back Donovan Edwards had a solid game versus Oregon, and Michigan will need him to have another big week. Kalel Mullings has struggled in the past two weeks, but his good performance is vital. Colston Loveland had a great game again and is the only receiver with a consistent ability to get open.
Defensively, Michigan was without its top two cornerbacks, Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill, and it showed. The health of those two will be critical in stopping the potent Indiana passing attack.
Meanwhile, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Jaishawn Barham, and Ernest Hausman must create penetration and stop the run game. If Michigan can’t stop the run, the defense doesn’t stand much of a chance of stopping Indiana’s offense.
Key Players for Indiana
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke is a real Heisman candidate this season. And, he had not missed a game, he surely would have been talked about more. Rourke has 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions while completing nearly 74 percent of his passes.
Also on offense, is running back Justice Ellison. Ellison is averaging six yards per carry. The running back has proven he can make plays on the ground, and help set up the passing attack by opening passing lanes.
Meanwhile, wide receivers Elijah Surrat, Omar Cooper Jr., and Myles Price are vital contributors to a deadly receiving trio. The starting offensive line, headlined by left tackle Carter Smtih, has not allowed a single sack this season.
Defensively, the unit is full of talented, experienced players. On the defensive line, Mikail Kamara, Lanell Carr, and Tyrique Tucker are some of the best players on a stout defensive front.
Also, in the secondary, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has solidified himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation. Safeties Amare Ferrell and Shawn Asbury have come on as top-tier safeties in college football.
Keys to Victory for the Michigan Wolverines
Have success on first down
Last week versus Oregon, Michigan played behind the chains on most of its drives in the first half. Negative plays on first down killed most of those drives, and Michigan couldn’t recover from the early negative plays.
The Wolverines must be successful on the first down to put itself in good positions to convert late-in drives on the third down. If Michigan gets out to a slow start because of a lack of success on third down, the Wolverines be climbing an uphill battle early in this football game.
Run the ball
Michigan had some success running the ball last week. However, the score got out of hand early, so they were forced to abandon the run earlier than they would have liked to.
This week, the Wolverines must be able to run the ball effectively early to keep the offense in rhythm. One part of this is running more basic run plays in early down situations, relying on your interior offensive line, and the strength of the offensive line as a whole.
Another key will be using mobile quarterback Alex Orji less. It is evident that against good teams, defenses know exactly what is coming when Orji is placed into the game. They know how to stop it, limiting the offense’s effectiveness on those plays.
Smart playcalling
When Michigan is in a position to score, coaches have to do a better job of putting the team in a position to succeed. This involved leaning on what the offense does well; not trying to get overly creative with trick plays and outsmarting the other team.
