Game Eleven Preview: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Michigan Wolverines

Who, When, Where: Indiana travels to the Big House in Ann Arbor to take on Michigan this Saturday at 3:30. ESPN will handle the broadcast, with Dave Pasch and Greg McElroy in the booth and Tom Luginbill on the sidelines. It has been a long time since Indiana has beaten Michigan in football (1987), and a much longer time since the Hoosiers have won in Ann Arbor (1967). Also of note, Indiana has never beaten Michigan in a game where it scored above 27 points, so given how the offense has played this year, we might have a chance.

Big Men on Campus: A big shoutout to the entire defense for tying the Indiana school record for tackles for loss in a single game, recording 16 against Penn State (the record was set in 1998 against Minnesota). Devine Redding broke through the 2,000 yard career rushing barrier by rushing for 108 against the Nittany Lions, making him the 13th IU running back to achieved that in his career.

Michigan Musings from OTE Head Honcho Graham Filler: Michigan football. Three main points.

1) Everyone could feel that Iowa game slipping away. All the cutesy playcalls that worked against terrible competition when up 2 scores...all of a sudden didn't work. Michigan is a good team, with an easy schedule, and a great defense, and a decent O. They were/are susceptible to losing and to struggling to score points. Michigan fans should be unhappy, but not overly shocked.

2) New quarterback time! I don't think it's a huge issue, except that Speight was improving as the season went on, so the playbook will probably get smaller. But you never know how a brand new QB will react, even though O'Korn is a veteran of sorts. The number one thing Michigan teaches is DONT MAKE THAT STUPID TURNOVER THROW BUDDY so we'll see if that lesson has made its way into O'Korn's brain.

Nevermind I don't want to talk anymore after thinking about Iowa and OSU and ugh.

How This Game Will Go During Basketball Season: The Hoosiers and Wolverines tangle twice in 17 days, at Crisler Arena on the 26th of January, and in Assembly Hall on February 12th. Michigan isn’t expected to be in the thick of the hunt for the Big Ten crown, but they’re still a solidly top half of the conference squad, and they’ll probably be a thorn in the Hoosiers’ side if given the chance. A split in these games would probably be fine; a sweep would be a huge boon for either side.

Prediction: For most of this week, I’ve had the bad feeling that Indiana’s gonna get hammer-trucked by Michigan. I’m honestly still not feeling great about our chances, but with as much concern as I’ve heard expressed about the Michigan QB situation, I’d at least like to believe we’ve got a chance....to cover. Michigan wins 45-28.

Next Week: Bucket Week, possibly with Indiana’s bowl hopes riding on the outcome as well. In other words, it’s gonna be big.