Indiana Football versus Michigan: Know your opponent

Indiana football versus Michigan: Know your opponent

Scoring on the ground

New starting quarterback Joe Milton has two games under his belt and has shown some promise, especially against Minnesota. Milton has 525 passing yards to his name thus far, but only one passing touchdown.

The Wolverines have scored eight of their nine touchdowns this season on the ground. Running back Hassan Haskins is having a great year so far, averaging 9.9 yards per carry with three touchdowns. Zach Charbonnet is averaging 8.1 yards per carry out of the backfield in addition to Haskins, making for a deadly running back combo.

The odd thing is that, despite the excellent stats from their running backs, Michigan hardly hands it off. Haskins has a mere 14 carries through two games and Charbonnet has just nine. Milton threw 52 passes against Michigan State but was unable to score one touchdown.

Indiana’s rushing defense is among the worst in the Big Ten. The Wolverines may try and run it more in Saturday’s game.

Opponent completion percentage

Through two games, Michigan has allowed the second-lowest opponent pass completion percentage in the Big Ten at 55.6%. Michael Penix jr has already struggled mightily with his completion percentage through two games. Both Penn State and Rutgers allowed tons of yards through the air on high efficiency in their other games this season, yet Penix couldn’t find his rhythm.

Penix will need to pick it up, because Michigan’s run defense is pretty stout, and Stevie Scott will not be able to beat them on his own. On paper, things don’t look good for Indiana’s quarterback heading into this game.