chaos

Essentials

Overview

Oh, c'mon.

Due to COVID-19 quarantine protocols, the entire on-air crew of Fox Sports’ college football pregame show, “Big Noon Kickoff,” will be off the air this Saturday: https://t.co/JOddPyapLn

— Nicole Auerbach ? (@NicoleAuerbach) November 5, 2020

We won't get the usual pregame analysis but at least these games are aesthetically pleasin--oh C'MON.

Indiana will wear these “Salute to Service” uniforms for Saturday’s game with Michigan pic.twitter.com/q0VhfaAWkw

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 5, 2020

The troops deserve better.

Anyway, the Wolverines limp into Bloomington to take on 13th-ranked Indiana, which has started the season with an improbable overtime upset of Penn State and exceedingly probable win over Rutgers. While they haven't always looked great, the Hoosier have found a way, and they already have an iconic moment this season.

Both Vegas and SP+ favor Michigan by 2-3 points. The bad news is it's harder to play the underdog card for motivation/jokes. The good news is Michigan has sucked as an underdog anyway. They also haven't lost to IU in my lifetime.

[Hit THE JUMP for who knows, honestly]

Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014)

We've come to know and love Indiana as the Big Ten's agent of chaos, excepting the butt-clenching three hours most every year when they play Michigan close wire to wire before falling short. The Hoosiers haven't beaten the Wolverines during my lifetime, yet they've come inches away from providing some of my most painful sports memories. This is the essence of modern Indiana football.

In 2009, we didn't know it was going to be like this. The programs hadn't played since 2006, a Michigan blowout. The Hoosiers hadn't ended the game within a score since 1999, when they had generational talent Antwaan Randle El. Their last win was in 1987. Yes, Michigan was coming off their worst year in... ever. They had a quarterback now and a win against Notre Dame. This was still Indiana. Michigan made it their homecoming game.

Our introduction: “The Wolverines and Hoosiers have already won three games apiece. That’s as many games as both teams won all of last season.”

Indiana had beaten Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Akron. The first two were one-score games at home. Those technically count, I guess.

While Michigan had easily beaten Eastern Michigan and—oh, hey—Western Michigan, Notre Dame had exposed some serious holes in the defense. It wouldn't take the Hoosiers long to find the gaps; after taking the opening kickoff, they went 80 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a fourth-and-two option pitch to receiver Tanden Doss. Doss easily broke the contain of redshirt freshman walk-on safety Jordan Kovacs, making his first career start.

It took Rich Rodriguez's offense all of 23 seconds to knot it up. Tate Forcier threw a flare screen to Carlos Brown and, well, let's just say Brown didn't have to deal with much contact:

Upon closer inspection, Martavious Odoms made one of the Mountain Goat Blocks of the Decade:

Pahokee forever.

[After THE JUMP: Even more Carlos Brown! Bad Forcier! Good Forcier! A Denard cameo! "Simultaneous possession"! Gum flying through the air!]

[Bryan Fuller]

The Question:

Biggest risk of not reaching The Game undefeated? Can be opponent or team issue

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The Responses:

Seth: My answers are low-score entropy, and the general bloodimindedness of the Big Ten universe. When Stribling fell down those who don't remember Bo-era losses must've thought "well that's what happens when you let a worse team off the hook." Those of us who do thought "Oh no, not again."

Randomness is the enemy of all favorites. When you're an offensive juggernaut with an okay defense, you worry about an injury to your dervish quarterback, conditions that take away something the defense couldn't, and staying on pace. When you're a defensive juggernaut with an okay offense, you worry about the one play.

We were given a treatment for the latter against Wisconsin. When facing a real defense, Michigan's just-okay offense will get bogged down. Michigan can mitigate the inability to kick a 40-yarder with better 4th down strategy, but this feeds the chaos engine.

Iowa brought back most of a great defense and could put it back together at night in Kinnick. Dantonio State will always play its best against Michigan. Indiana is probably better than either of those two and would be utterly terrifying if their chaos seed was just that rather than a curse. And out there on the Big Ten seas lurk the John O'Neill officiating crew, sworn enemies oddsmakers, favorites and ever calling holding unless it didn't happen, and capable of shifting an expected score by 28 points on the regular. When the deck is stacked in your favor, chaos is the enemy

[After THE JUMP: Respekt is earned.]