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 1st, 2014 at 10:02 PM ^
Brandon doesn't have anything to do with Michigan's won-lost record. He ws fired for other reasons.
I would have liked to see Morris get some reps late in the game, plus Gardner could use the rest as he still looks like he is banged up.
Was glad to see us throw to someone besides DF all day.
November 1st, 2014 at 10:09 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 11:06 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:07 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:49 AM ^
He is the textbook example of a hothouse athlete. He's a good guy, tries hard, but lacks the instincts of a natural talent. He can't read the defenses. He's either too slow or too fast in handling the ball after the snap. He often throws the ball to a receiver who is completely covered while ignoring open receivers. Why doesn't Hoke see Gardner for what he is? You can't "develop talent" that just isn't there!
November 1st, 2014 at 10:47 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 11:00 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:38 AM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 11:05 PM ^
DG is such a puzzling player. At times he seems capable of decent throws but at other times I don't know what he is thinking--like the INT across the middle today, and the near pick 6.
His delivery has always looked awkward to me, he often throws off his back foot, lobs the ball when he should throw a dart and vice versa, and still stares down his receivers.
Now it seems as if running the ball is almost not an option. There were several plays where he had clearly open field on one of the edges but instead danced around in the pocket until it collapsed.
I have great respect for him as a person but as a QB, he is just such a mess.
November 1st, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
Did u see him clearly limping? Probably didn't run because he's got a foot injury
November 1st, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^
Yeah, it was pretty obvious that he was gimpy. But really, you can see the same mechanical issues in every game this year.
November 1st, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:46 AM ^
Just such a mess. Looking forward to the new quarterback coming in next year!
November 1st, 2014 at 11:23 PM ^
I think Hoke should be fired if he loses to OSU! Even if we make a bowl game at 6-6!
November 1st, 2014 at 11:45 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:27 AM ^
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November 2nd, 2014 at 7:25 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:32 AM ^
I agree. We need one of Gardner's 'in the zone' performances, but there's also the 'win The (last) Game for the Hokester' factor. Maybe they channel the season's frustrations into a kick-ass performance. I don't think an embarrassing beat-down is inevitable.
November 2nd, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^
OSU could lose to Michigan because they will be demoralized after losing to MSU. They will be vulnerable, but Michigan on the road is highly unlikely to pull it off. The game may be closer than we think it should.
November 2nd, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 11:47 PM ^
November 1st, 2014 at 11:54 PM ^
It's time! Regardless of the rest of the season, especially if Harbaugh is available. There are only a handful of opportunities where you can upgrade to a championship level and getting Jim Harbaugh would put Michigan back on the map!
November 2nd, 2014 at 8:59 AM ^
Yes, absolutely I think UM has to go at him as hard as they can to try to land him, but let's keep some perspective about our chances.
November 2nd, 2014 at 9:27 AM ^
You are forgetting that the 49ers tried to trade him to Cleveland last year. Yes it's true! On top of that they have not extended his contract.
Add to that the current rumors that his father Jack indicated that he would take the job if offered by Michigan (I don't know if this is true or not-just rumors at this point).
I will admit I have guarded optimism, but I had the same during the last coaching search regarding Miles and Harbaugh. We wound up with Hoke because our AD had an agenda from the start to go with an unproven MAC level coach.
So I hear you, but I wouldn't say it is impossible.
You are also going to see Michigan go on a mini-run winning the next 2 games. Some will argue for Hoke, but know this is smoke and mirrors against bad teams.
You don't ignore 4 years of poor player development and poor performance because of a couple of wins against mediocre talent.
I believe that where there is smoke there is fire.
If Harbaugh has interest you jump at the opportunity to nab him. You always take the upgrade because those opportunities rarely align from a timing standpoint. Standing pat is not an option. I was very encouraged about the new President's comments on striving for Excellence. This is where it starts.
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:33 PM ^
if there is a chance we jump at him. Absolutely. I, like you, felt we had a chance last time too. I don't want to face disappointment on top of a disappointing season.
I do worry about Schlissel's talk about 'balancing' academics and athletics. I get the vibe from him he'd much rather have a smaller, less successful football team that didn't have as much power to draw his attention away from what he loves; the academic side. Admittedly I'm totally reading into this, but for a guy with very little big time college sports experience the past month has had to be a real dash of cold water in the face.
A Northwestern caliber team might be just what he wants.
November 1st, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
Anyone catch this? Sounded like Mason and the new interim AD went to a strip club together. Mason referred to an "establishment" rather cagely and quickly changed the subject right after mentioning it.
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:43 AM ^
We had to miss the game but in running through the tape I see that Gardner had his usual grievous gaffes. Why didn't Hoke put in Morris---in the 4th quarter, at least?
It must have been very cold---the drums in the marching band sounded muffled, and the brass sounded too sharp and off.
These are minor complaints. Defense looks great. Running game (against hapless Indiana) looks good. Receivers are wonderful. The coaching seems hard to understand. I repeat, Why not put in Morris, especially after we got a big lead?
GO BLUE!
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:37 AM ^
Except it forces fans to start thinking about Northwestern. Which is great, because the last two times Hoke coaches against Northwestern games went into fucking overtime. Last year's fiasco was really special.
Northwestern is an awful football team, but they buried Penn State in Happy Valley and beat Wisconsin at home. Sure, they've lost three straight and just got murdered by Iowa by 38 points. But NW always playes better than advertised against Michigan, especially in Evanston.
Michigan now has a 4-5 record. Somehow 4-8 or 5-7 seems about right for the season finish.
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:43 AM ^
Unbelievable to me that people still complain about the students not showing up or leaving early. Sure it was mostly empty in the top of the student section, but it was noticably empty near the top of most sections and that was even more apparent after the half. It was cold, more cold than most expected. Season tickets were expensive (and prices were raised, thanks dave) for a fairly bad schedule and sales were down. This has not been a successful season, Michigan hasn't been great in quite some time. The following that some of the older fans have just isn't there right now.
I do believe that with a new AD and the right hire of a new coach, things can change fast. There is talent on that football team, it just is not being recognized, utilized properly or developed. Just an epic failure all around by this coaching staff. A good staff will be able to make it work and ease the pain of what looks like will be an off year in recruiting. They should lower prices even more than what DB promised as a show of good faith.
November 2nd, 2014 at 6:13 AM ^
Underwhelming and unimpressive....that is what I think of the students who have football tickets. Grow up and show support for your school and team!
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:46 AM ^
The students really missed a chance to show some unity. I attend games so infrequently (also attended infrequently while I was a student) but I really wanted to go yesterday to show some support. My wife, my oldest, and I thankfully got some free tickets to great seats and it was a great time. My son's first game and he loved it. Cold blue.
November 2nd, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^
To me, the poor showing by the students yesterday was truly embarrassing. Especially since lots of cheap seats were available thru StubHub--non season ticket holders should have jumped on those! No excuses. Homecoming. Brandon gone! Just wow. Most did not come, those that did arrived late and left early. More impactful in a negative way then 5,000 email signatures and 2,000 T shirts. If student season tickets don't jump back from 14,000 to over 20,000 next year(with lower prices and much better schedule), we will know that Brandon was not the biggest problem.
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November 2nd, 2014 at 10:48 AM ^
When we're playing for a lesser bowl game and it was COLD. There are ways they could have gotten more attendance, but has to be done carefully (witness how the Coke promotion went over...) maybe could have offered free tickets to all former players? Especially fitting at Homecoming with so many unsold tickets.
November 2nd, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^
Police groups, fireman, military are also good. Canham used to give out 15,000 to high school bands!
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November 2nd, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^
But it was damn cold. 25 degrees (real feel) on Nov 1st when we're not yet acclimated is brutal.
My group stayed until the end but I can see 18-20 year olds saying f this.
November 2nd, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
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November 2nd, 2014 at 6:48 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:30 AM ^
Very impressed with Drake Johnson. His combination of speed, power, and his fakes had me and the kids yelling at the TV. Quite refreshing to see.
Go Blue!
November 2nd, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
Cause I'm just as guilty of that as the next person... but Hoke seemed uncharachteristically fired up, was that really the first time I've seen him in the ref's face, yelling? Or is my memory selective?
November 2nd, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
November 2nd, 2014 at 7:42 PM ^
Is it just me or did Drake Johnson show glimpses of Mike Hart? The was times he would cut on his runs and seem to not get him clean and be able to fall forward on most runs. Several of the other big backs seem to dance when they shift their feet and Drake seems to be able to take off on his cuts. I am not saying he is as good as Mike was but he had some good moments. Maybe it's just the number throwing me off.
November 3rd, 2014 at 8:44 AM ^
Thank you, sir, for using the proper term. "Catty-corner" is for Buckeyes. I would like to toast you with a ice cold pop.
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