Michigan 34, Indiana 10
The pride of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. [Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog]
It's a new day. Sort of.
There was plenty to celebrate in the first Michigan game of the post-Brandon era. The Wolverines thoroughly dominated Indiana, more than doubling their total yardage and earning the team's first double-digit win since the Miami game.
Devin Gardner set a season high in passing yardage. Amara Darboh posted the best day of his career. So did Ann Arbor native Drake Johnson, who rushed for 122 yards and two scores in his first extended action at running back. The defense shut down the nation's leading rusher, IU's Tevin Coleman, and even forced a pair of turnovers.
There was plenty of bad that was familiar, too. Gardner tossed an ugly interception and narrowly avoided a pick-six when the game was still competitive. Brady Hoke bungled basic clock management at the end of the first half, robbing Michigan of a chance to score before the break. The Wolverines punted from the Indiana 43 on a fourth-and-short. And, of course, the entire game came with the caveat of facing an IU squad with a miserable defense and a depleted depth chart at quarterback.
Oh, and the announced attendance of 103,111 was met with a mixture of laughter and boos; perhaps the program sold that many tickets, but on a chilly afternoon in Ann Arbor, there certainly weren't that many seats filled.
Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog
On this day, though, the good should be the focus. With Jake Butt suspended for the game for a violation of team rules, reserve tight end Keith Heitzman was able to record his first career touchdown on an improvised shovel pass from Gardner (pictured above).
Injury also created opportunity in the backfield. With Derrick Green out for the season and De'Veon Smith in and out of the game with a dinged up ankle, Johnson got 16 carries—14 of them in the second half—and he salted away the game, playing kitty-corner from where he starred in high school at both football and track. Johnson, who'd seen mostly special teams duty in his time at Michigan, showed off that track-star speed by breaking multiple runs into the Indiana secondary.
Darboh broke the century mark on nine receptions, scoring from 12 yards on a hard-thrown post from Gardner to give Michgian a 17-0 lead that would stand as the halftime score. He and Devin Funchess combined to reel in 16 of Gardner's 22 completions; no other Wolverine had more than one.
The defense dominated an Indiana offense sorely missing injured quarterback Nate Sudfeld. They got some help from IU coach Kevin Wilson, as well. Wilson benched Tevin Coleman after he put the ball on the turf twice, losing the second on a recovery by freshman Bryan Mone. Indiana couldn't generate any offense without Coleman, who'd finish with a season-low 108 yards—must be nice—on 27 carries; his mark of four yards per carry was well below his season average of 8.8.
The Hoosiers also insisted on running much of their offense from the Wildcat, which Michigan had dead to rights for most of the game. Jake Ryan recorded 2.5 TFLs among his team-high 11 tackles; fellow linebacker Joe Bolden had two TFLs of his own as M repeatedly shot gaps into the IU backfield. Any hopes Indiana had of getting back into the game were dashed when Ryan Glasgow sacked IU QB Zander Diamont, stripped the ball, and came up with the recovery in the third quarter; Johnson got the corner for his first touchdown on the ensuing drive.
The final yardage read Michigan 404, Indiana 191.
Hoke refused to address questions about Dave Brandon's resignation in the aftermath of the game, and that felt right. Today was about the team on the field, and while the opponent wasn't a strong one, they were able to ignore this week's distractions and take care of business. That alone was an impressive feat.
November 2nd, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^
and November, but can't remember the exact game. His advice was, to stretch out your leg, grasp your foot (upper part) and bend your toes back, towards you. When I asked him why, he said it gets blood circulating and that's what he had his Scouts do when they were on camping trips. It worked, and still does.
November 2nd, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
Attendance is not calculated from the number of tickets sold. It is counted by who goes through the turnstiles (sp?). And yes, that includes everyone that goes through them.
November 1st, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^
That is a great photo of the falling down flip pass.
November 1st, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
Still the lousy piped in music and student no-shows! And fans leaving early on Homecoming. The players deserve better. Cold yes, but wow.
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November 1st, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^
I don't think they were going to change the music on 24 hours' notice.
November 1st, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 8:32 PM ^
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November 1st, 2014 at 11:14 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 3:03 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^
Coherent and no typos. Impressive.
November 2nd, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
When they played "t-shirt time" followed by Timber right at the end of the third quarter, I couldn't take it any more. I don't need to see people shoot t-shirts into the stands on the big screen, and I definitely don't need crap music accompanying it. The manufactured "excitement" is hard to sit through. I suggest Dave Brandon's wow factor find a new team to support. Have a happy life!!!
I had never heard that t-shirt time song, but apparently it's from Jersey Shore. Sounds about right.
November 1st, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^
See what happens when they aren't running with Dave's game plan!
November 1st, 2014 at 8:21 PM ^
Drake Johnson had a signature day rushing and his mother, U-M cheerleading coach, was right there on the field with Drake and a stone's throw from Drake's former high school stadium. Tremendous family and local pride out there for the best homecoming in years, and you know there is no way Drake fails to get some action from one or more cheerleaders tonight. All around fine day for everybody, exception Dave Brandon and I can live with that.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:29 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 8:26 PM ^
Brady's interview on the field after the game reminded me that he is a good human being who it is easy to root for. He loves his team and they love him.
If only that were enough.
I'm sure that whomever is called upon to be the hatchet man (assuming that it happens at or around the end of the season) it will be difficult to carry out on an emotional level. One human being is going to have to tell another one that he is out of a job. I know, I know, very healthy severance package and all that. But it doesn't change the fact that firing someone you like is one of the shittiest parts of being a manager.
November 1st, 2014 at 8:58 PM ^
I wonder if David Brandon was smothering the program with pressure? This team certainly seemed to play looser on both sides of the ball than at any time this year, at least against a Big Ten foe.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^
with Miami and App St. It was a good effort, but there was minimal resistance.
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:06 AM ^
Indiana beat Missouri. I don't care if their QB was out. Don't compare them to App State or Miami-OH
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:05 AM ^
I'm with you on this - I suspected it even before today's game. Mattison has alluded to it at times - what Hoke was having to deal with. I would like to know just how "involved' DB was making himself.
There is no doubt the team played looser today, regardless of the opponent
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:33 AM ^
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November 1st, 2014 at 9:00 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 9:24 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 9:51 PM ^
of unhappy Michigan fans around here when we don't get Harbaugh for our next coach.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:59 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^
ecstatic for Gary Patterson if we don't get JH.
November 1st, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
If there were any way possible to keep Hoke around as DL coach and keep him recruiting, that would be awesome. Sadly, it just isn't really a viable thing. Too bad, I do like the guy. The DL has made steady improvement, and he can recruit like crazy. The kids do seem to genuinely love him, that's a valuable quality to have. I feel bad for Hoke.
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^
I'm not convinced it can't be done in some fashion. He's so pro-Michigan it could be an exception to the rule. Some kind of Coach Emeritus. But in practice really a D-Line coach and supreme recruiter
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:32 AM ^
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November 2nd, 2014 at 6:28 AM ^
His buyout is so huge, keep him as the DL coach. He's well liked as a recruiter....
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
Buyout would still apply in that scenario, as it would require firing him as head coach.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 9:42 PM ^
but let''s not make excuses for his failings. How are any of the problems he has had at QB not his fault? He went all in on Gardner at QB when he recruited none in the 2012 class after only having Bellomy as a late add in 2011. Then he moves him to WR. I'll cut him a break on the OL, but his handling of the QB position has been horrendous. It's as if he doesn't think it's an important position.
Not only has he bungled things for himself, but he's potentially leaving the next guy a major problem.
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:51 AM ^
QB coaching up was a dissaster, who else did he have? 2012 void was huge. But Gardner at the time was one of the highest ranked QB at the time with a lot of upside. Moving Gardner to WR while Denard was our only offense. I will disagree on the OL somewhat, Funk has to be accountable and should have been fiired before Al. QB could be an issue but he got Shane that most of us at the time thought he was going to be a reliable replacement. So he got Nuss which at the time we thought problems with the offense were going to trend up. I'm not giving Hoke a pass as the past 3 years have been a cluster f**k, I'm trying to give one of our own some cause for reflection. If he was not part of the M brand going back Hoke would already been seen the path of DB. I guess we all wanted the chubby guy to excel and I wish for once he would show some Saban like attitude on the field and pressers. Let him go but the crucification for one of our own...we are better than this with name calling et al. Recruits see this stuff, and other coaches uses this to solidfy their agenda. As I stated the sooner all this is done were all the better.
November 1st, 2014 at 11:18 PM ^
The Devil you don't know. I agree it's a brain buster. I dropped in to see if there was any comments on RR watching his #12 ranked team. Hoke got a curse and a blessing with this job and second thoughts do creep in. Maybe in a few years we may find out how much DB fucked with Hoke watching the game films. The sooner this get's resolved the better. The next coach will at least have more talent to work with and coach up to their potential.
November 4th, 2014 at 4:01 AM ^
Hoke will never be a great coach. Will never regularly compete for B1G titles. Will never sniff the national playoff. He's simply not capable. The wrorst thing that could happen to Michigan football would be to keep Hoke around for one more year, see him go 8-4 and then continue the mediocrity.
If Harbaugh is not available, someone else is. Someone who is a much better football coach than Brady Hoke.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:10 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 9:14 PM ^
Do tickets need to be free??
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November 1st, 2014 at 9:27 PM ^
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November 2nd, 2014 at 1:12 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:24 AM ^
But at least double that was empty for most of the game. I think the lack of students is due to the mid afternoon start time more than anything else. I think an earlier start time encourages fan participation since it is so much easier to organize your day around a 12:30 kickoff.
November 2nd, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:39 PM ^
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November 2nd, 2014 at 7:49 AM ^
The stadium didn't look any different than it has in years past when playing a team percieved to not be very good on a cold November day - particulaly when we are not very good either! You can't expect students or anyone else for that matter to show up all the time.
November 1st, 2014 at 9:14 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 9:16 PM ^
He had his chance, 4 years, you cannot ask for more. Suddenly beating a terrible Indiana team playing with their 3rd string QB is good enough to give a man a shot at another year?
Wait until they get their asses handed to them at the Horse Shoe and we will all be ranting and asking for this immediate release again.
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:28 AM ^
But four more victories keeps it interesting. It would certianly be Hoke making a statement. Coupled with his 100% graduation rate it is a strong argument indeed. Only if we truly win out though. It is much more likely we lose out.
November 1st, 2014 at 10:01 PM ^
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November 1st, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^
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