BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There’s no doubt about it now: Hoo’s got it better than us.
At least, if “us” is defending national champion Michigan. One year after beating Indiana by 45 points, the Wolverines looked like an entirely different program, particularly early. U-M lost turnovers and committed penalties, threw questionable challenge flags and allowed big play after big play to the Hoosiers.
It happened against a red-hot Indiana team, in front of a crowd of 53,082 bursting at the seams from opening kickoff until the final whistle, and though U-M got within two points with 9:35 left in the fourth, Indiana held on for the 20-15 win.
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Outside of a COVID-19 shortened 2020 season that the program quickly flushed, it feels like the new lowest point for the Maize and Blue since a 5-7 2014 season that got Brady Hoke fired.
“It’s something you have to really craft, words are extremely powerful in a situation like this,” captain and fullback Max Bredeson said of the message to the team during the upcoming bye week. “Got to find the best message, best way to reach the team. But, I’ve never seen anything in the relationships of backing down, or any of the negative things you’d think with a record like this.”
The main issue on Saturday? That there wasn’t just one issue. Again.
Start with the rushing attack, which never really got going, Kalel Mullings, the lead ballcarrier on the year, ran just once in the first half — head coach Sherrone Moore told CBS at halftime it’s because of how the others practiced and he wanted to “feed the hot hand.”
The switch didn’t work. U-M had just 13 carries for 11 yards at the break as Donovan Edwards served as the focal point and ran five times for 12 yards while Benjamin Hall managed just three carries for 9 yards in the first two quarters. Michigan finished with 34 carries for 69 yards on the day (2 yards per attempt).
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“Ben was practicing really well and it was time for opportunity for Ben to get some carries,” Moore said postgame. “Felt like that was the best decision.”
With no ground game, quarterback Davis Warren was constantly under duress and finished the game 16-for-32 for 137 yards. Though he wasn’t sacked, he had pressure in his face all night — IU had eight pass breakups and three hurries.
“When he’s got the pressure in his face and has to move around, that’s when the off-target throws happen,” Moore said. “He’s going to keep harping on himself. … But I’m going to have his back … make sure he knows he’s doing as much as he can and we’ve got to continue to help around him.”
On defense, with Will Johnson out again, U-M’s already-thin secondary was gashed into oblivion. Kurtis Rourke, a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate, completed 17 of 28 passes for 205 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Michigan (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) is off next week before a home game against Northwestern to try and reach bowl eligibility.
“We’ll watch the film and continue to evaluate, but I’m proud of the ways the guys fought,” Moore said. “In a game like that, you could easily lay down, and our guys went to the last second to go fight, so I’m proud of the team and proud of what they did.”
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Michigan’s opening drive showed promise. Warren hit his first two passes to Loveland for 22 yards, found Fredrick Moore on a 16-yard slant and Tyler Morris on a 16-yard toe-tapping corner route to set up first-and-goal.
Then things fell apart. Edwards ran for 3 yards on first down, backup QB Alex Orji came in on second down and handed to Hall who was stuffed for a gain of 1 before third down, when Warren fumbled the ball as he went back to throw. Michigan recovered but Dominic Zvada ultimately had to salvage the drive with a 39-yard field goal.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to execute,” Moore said. “There were some twists, movements, zone runs we didn’t pick up and it was one guy here, one guy there, but that was the story when you look back at the iPad.”
The lead didn’t last long. The Hoosiers put together a seven-play, 75-yard drive that saw six plays go for 7 yards or more and three gain at least 11 yards. The drive ended when Rourke found Omar Cooper Jr. on a fade route for the score.
After a U-M three-and-out, IU marched again. This time, the drive was seven plays and 65 yards, but it was a different cornerback who got beat — Jyaire Hill bit on a stop-and-go — and Rourke found Elijah Sarratt on a 36-yard touchdown to put IU up 14-3 with 12:10 left in the half.
U-M’s offense seemed to completely fall apart at that point. After picking up one first down, Warren missed three consecutive passes — one to Semaj Morgan, one to Loveland and one to Kendrick Bell — which forced U-M’s second punt in a row.
“Yeah, left some plays out there in the red zone and then a couple on third down,” Warren said.
At last, U-M came up with a stop. After a 41-yard pass got IU into Michigan territory, Cameron Brandt came up with a sack to get the drive behind the sticks. The Hoosiers opted to go for it on fourth-and-12 at the 33, but the pass fell incomplete.
Michigan finally had momentum, but soon lost it. After Warren found Morris on a well-run out-route to pick up 13 and cross midfield, Orji came in on the next play, got popped by Terry Jones Jr. and fumbled, which IU recovered at the U-M 48.
Indiana got into the red zone, but an offensive pass interference stalled the drive and the Hoosiers settled for a 40-yard field goal.
Set up by a nice Jordan Marshall return, Michigan faced third-and-8 early in the third quarter on IU’s side of the field.
Kirk Campbell called a run — presumably to get into a manageable situation — and got it to fourth-and-3 but instead of going for it, U-M tried to draw IU offsides. It didn’t work, the Wolverines were flagged for delay of game, and punted the ball away.
U-M was given a gift when Rourke threw a terrible pick to Zeke Berry which set up U-M inside the 10, which led to the most disappointing series of the year. Hall’s run was stuffed at the line, Edwards picked up just 3 yards and then Orji got hammered for no gain and two minutes later, U-M settled for a 20-yard field goal to make it 17-6.
“That’s not winning football,” Warren said of kicking two field goals in the red zone and going 6-for-17 on third and fourth down. “Gotta go back to the drawing board and find ways to punch the ball in.”
But Wink Martindale’s defense had figured something out. Michigan forced yet another punt and put together its first time-consuming drive. The Wolverines didn’t gain a ton of ground — they went 44 yards on 12 plays — but after taking 7:02 off the clock, Zvada came on once more and drilled a 56-yarder to pull within one possession with 8 seconds left in the third.
The defense kept the momentum rolling. TJ Guy came up with a sack on third down, then Brandt came away with a tackle for loss on a swing pass to start the fourth quarter before Guy got home for another sack on a stunt with Jimmy Rolder.
“We know they weren’t doing anything to beat us for real,” Guy said of the halftime adjustments. “Just was going to take 100% focus from everybody and that’s what we did.”
The punt was botched and U-M started the possession at the IU 34. This time, the Wolverines would capitalize and after a seven-play drive, Mullings scored a 1-yard touchdown run on on fourth-and-goal, but Warren couldn’t find Peyton O’Leary on the two-point conversion and U-M remained down 17-15 with 9:35 to play.
Michigan forced another three-and-out and got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but had a three-and-out of its own when Warren sailed a pass for Bell over the middle on third-and-11.
This time, Ke’Shawn Williams returned Tommy Doman’s 35-yard punt 22 yards to get to the U-M 39. To that point, Michigan’s defense had dominated the second half, limiting IU to minus-6 yards on 15 plays, but the Hoosiers did manage to get one first down and set up a field goal with 2:39 to play.
Warren and Co. got the ball back one more time, but on fourth-and-10, he connected with O’Leary, who was tackled half a yard short of the sticks. The Hoosiers got one more first down to ice the game.
“100%,” Warren said when asked if the offense feels worse about this loss than the previous, after the defense held the No. 2 offense in the nation to a season-low 20 points. “Defense played their butts off.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.
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