Complete Game Preview: Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan
By Will Logan
Well this should be fun. Indiana fans are eager to see if there’s any hope for the rest of the year without Sudfeld. Michigan fans are anxious to see if the team can win three of their last four and salvage a bowl appearance. An alternate interpretation would be that both fan bases are ready for this season to be over, but hey, somebody’s got to win, right?
What They’re Saying:
- ESPN: 5 for Michigan, 1 for Indiana
- 24/7: Michigan 28 Indiana 24
- BTN: 3 for Michigan, 1 for Indiana
- Athlon: 2 for Michigan, 2 for Indiana
Keys to Victory:
1. Shut Down (Out?) the Michigan Offense
Tevin Coleman averages more touchdowns per game than the entire Michigan offense.
Michigan can’t win if they don’t score. It’s science. While it might seem ludacris to ask the Indiana defense to shut down any opponent, holding Michigan in check might actually be realistic. The Wolverines are dead last in the conference in scoring offense and there are only three QB’s in the nation who have thrown more interceptions than Devin Gardner (who hasn’t even started the whole year). As ESPN writer Dan Murphy pointed out, Tevin Coleman is averaging more touchdowns per game than the entire Michigan offense against Power 5 opponents. So yes. Michigan’s offense has been laughably bad (and Tevin Coleman has been a oh-so-good).
2. Wizardry from Wilson
Zander Diamont had a 7.3 QBR against Michigan State. I honestly have never seen a rating that low…until I looked down a line and saw his replacement, Nate Boudreau, had a QBR of 0.4. Needless to say, Kevin Wilson is going to have to put his lauded offensive mind to work if there’s any hope for the Hoosiers moving forward in 2014. Really, he’s going to have to adopt a Kenny Powers-like “win, cheat, or quit” mentality. The offense doesn’t look like it will be able to get the job done running the standard playbook. A significant amount of trickery (not actual cheating) will need to be involved, and we got a great taste of that in the last game against Michigan State. On the bright side, Indiana couldn’t have asked for a better time for their off-week. Having the extra week to prepare Zander and adjust the offense before Michigan State likely would have been a waste. This way, Zander got his feet wet and hopefully shook off some first-game jitters while the staff got to see what they’d have to work with moving forward.
Oct 11, 2014; Iowa City, IA, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Kevin Wilson looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
3. Score First
Indiana may be experiencing a QB catastrophe, but the debacle Michigan fans have witnessed has included far more than one position on the field. Their maligned athletic director resigned while this was being written and Brady Hoke is certainly close behind. Social media features a “Fire Brady Hoke” Facebook page and seven different Twitter handles while local papers routinely run headlines such as the Detroit News’ “Enough is Enough, Michigan Must Fire Hoke.” Fans are more or less done with this season. This Saturday might be homecoming, but if the Hoosiers are able to take an early lead, the crowd may actually work in Indiana’s favor. I honestly think Indiana has a better chance in this matchup in Ann Arbor than they would at Memorial Stadium. If the boos and “GO HOME HOKE” chants start early in this one, the Wolverine players could easily fold.
Nonessential Knowledge:
- Brady Hoke and Kevin Wilson are listed at number 2 and 3 in the coaches hot seat rankings.
- Indiana hasn’t beaten Michigan since 1987. They haven’t won at Michigan since 1967. This might be the Hoosiers’ best chance to get the monkey off their back before Michigan brings in a new coach.
- Tevin Coleman flashed some swag (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) in a Sporting News article this week:
"“Sometimes they mess around with you and say, ‘You’re not going anywhere today. I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, you’re wrong.’”Tevin Ford Coleman"
That’s what I’m talkin’ bout.
Hoosiers.