Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia breaks down Michigan football’s 2024 Week 11 matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers, who are undefeated through nine games for the first time in program history.
Matchup: Michigan (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 10 Indiana (9-0, 6-0).
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana.
TV/radio: CBS; WXYT-FM (97.1)
Line: Hoosiers by 14½.
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Michigan: Out: QB Jack Tuttle (for season, retired), DB Ja’Den McBurrows (for season, undisclosed), OT Andrew Gentry (for season, lower body), DB Rod Moore (ACL), Doubtful: Will Johnson (foot), Missed Week 10: WR Amorion Walker (undisclosed), DB Jaden Mangham (undisclosed), LB Micah Pollard (undisclosed), Probable: DB Jyaire Hill (undisclosed)
Indiana: Nobody was listed as out or questionable last week in a 47-10 win over Michigan State.
When Michigan has the ball: The Wolverines have found some semblance of a passing game behind Davis Warren, who is coming off his best game of the year, completing 13 of 23 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against Oregon. Perhaps the best part? Both scores came from receivers, one by Tyler Morris and one from Peyton O’Leary. However, it was once again tight end Colston Loveland as the focal point, with seven catches and a career-high 112 receiving yards. Though there has been some progress, Michigan is still No. 128 out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in passing (134.3 yards per game). Alas, the rushing game has now lost its footing: U-M was bottled up by Oregon last week, as leading rusher Kalel Mullings ran eight times for a season-low 16 yards while Donovan Edwards had 10 carries for 52 yards. Indiana won’t make it easy, either, as the Hoosiers are No. 1 (72.6 yards per game) in stopping the run.
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When Indiana has the ball: Part of the reason IU has such a good run defense is that its offense forces teams to immediately pass and play catchup. That’s because of a prolific attack which is ranked No. 19 in passing (284.3), No. 30 in rushing (191.1), No. 9 in total yards (476.2) and most impressively, No. 2 in scoring (46.6 points). The Hoosiers have put up at least 31 points in every game, with at least 41 points in five of six Big Ten games behind a passing offense which has five different players with more than 250 receiving yards and six who have multiple touchdowns. It will be a tough task, clearly, for a Michigan defense that’s No. 23 vs. the run (109.3) and No. 95 against the pass (235.8 yards) and will likely again be without star cornerback Will Johnson.
Killa Kurtis: The man running the show for the Hoosiers, who U-M head coach Sherrone Moore respectfully referred to as “their point guard,” is Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke. The former MAC quarterback has completed 154 of 210 passes (73.3% completions) for 2,204 yards, 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Rourke, who has also run for a score, had surgery on his throwing thumb a few weeks ago, but that didn’t stop him from returning last week and shredding Michigan State for 263 yards and four passing touchdowns.
Powered by Rourke, the Hoosiers find themselves on the inside of the first College Football Playoff rankings as IU looks to improve to 10-0 for the first time in program history.
Curt “Google me” Cignetti: The runaway favorite for coach of the year, Cignetti took over the job after extreme success at James Madison. When asked what his recruiting pitch would be for lowly Indiana, his response was: “I win. Google me.” A quick search engine check proves that is indeed true. He went 52-9 (.853 winning percentage) with the Dukes over the past five seasons, highlighted by a 11-1 campaign in 2023. Named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year, Cignetti came to Bloomington with a lifetime record of 119-35 (.773).
Running back rotation: The Hoosiers are an incredibly balanced attack and that goes for their running backs, too. Justice Ellison, a Wake Forest transfer, leads the way on the ground having run 111 times for 669 yards (6 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns, but Ty Son Lawton is every bit as capable. He transferred in from James Madison and the sixth-year back, who began his career at Stony Brook, has 94 rushes for 453 yards and nine touchdowns as well. The Hoosiers’ stable goes deeper than that. Kaelon Black has 217 rushing yards and Elijah Green has 26 carries for 186 yards (7.2 per touch) and five touchdowns.
Schedule semantics: There are still some skeptics who point to IU’s rather soft schedule. IU played a nonconference schedule of FIU, Western Illinois and Charlotte, and has opened its Big Ten schedule with six foes — UCLA (3-5), Maryland (4-4), Northwestern (4-5), Nebraska (5-4), Washington (5-4) and Michigan State (4-5) — who’ve yet to achieve bowl eligibility. Then again, the Hoosiers have destroyed these teams, with the “closest” games as two-touchdown victories.
Nothing to lose: The last time these teams squared off, in 2023, the Hoosiers opened the scoring on a double-pass with Donaven McCulley (who is now in the transfer portal and a candidate to join U-M next season). Michigan then imposed its will and suffocated the Hoosiers with 52 straight. While these teams aren’t that lopsided, Indiana is expected by Vegas to keep its two-touchdown win streak alive. That means the Wolverines have nothing to lose. Perhaps a fake punt, perhaps an aggressive call on fourth down, but there have to be some tendency breakers to have any shot.
If the front of the jersey said “USC” instead, this team would be ranked inside the top five. Cignetti doesn’t mind running it up, Rourke is a veteran quarterback making his 43rd start and the Hoosiers defense loves to wreck a quarterback’s afternoon (just ask MSU’s Aidan Chiles). Maybe U-M keeps it close early, but more likely, there’s a result which feels inevitable. The pick: Indiana 34, U-M 17.
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