Your first reaction might be to laugh at that question. Historically the divide between these two programs is similar to the Grand Canyon. Though the Wolverines have been slow starters this season and even slower on the road. If Michigan doesn't go down 21-0 in the first half at Penn State, they win that game by probably double figures.
Indiana is improved and could be considered a Big Ten program on the rise. I like to think of them as the Purdue Boilermakers before this season. Michigan also has played poorly against IU recently. The Hooisers took Michigan to OT in 2015 and 2017.
Let's take a look at the numbers:
Total Offense
IU #31
Michigan #69
Rushing
Michigan #67
IU #102
Passing
IU #13
Michigan #63
Total Defense
Michigan #5
IU #18
Rushing Defense
Michigan #17
IU #46
Passing Defense
Michigan #4
IU #10
Those numbers are shocking to me as I didn't expect them to be so close on defense. I would have guessed IU had the #40 total defense and they are 18th. I did expect IU to have better stats on offense mostly in the passing category.
IU clearly doesn't run that much, which is a bit strange as that is how they have gashed the Wolverines in recent years and even got Greg Fry a job on Michigan's staff. The two biggest keys for the Wolverines will be stopping the passing game and scoring points in the passing game on offense. THROW NICO THE BALL!
IU has a shaky offense line and will try to get the ball out of Ramsey's hand as quickly as possible, so that Paye, Uche, Hutchinson, and Danna don't bury him. Look for a ton of short passes, like what MSU tried to do most of the game.
Michigan must not sleep walk at any point during this game. As I have said many times before, this is the definition of a trap game.
- Duncan Robinson went off last night against the Cavs and Coach B. He had 8 3's in the first half and finished with 9 and 29 points.
- Rutgers continues to spin its wheels in the hiring of a new coach. Now the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault has come out against the possible hiring of Greg Schiano due to his Penn State days.
1 comment:
Michigan has had too many close calls and quite frankly probably lucked out a few wins against this team. Keeping my fingers crossed on Saturday. They must play focused football all afternoon, I don't think the crowd will be an distraction issue. Need a business like approach. We lose this week, we lose next week. Don't let one loss cause another.
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