Michigan 48, Indiana 41 (2 OT)
[Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog]
Chaos reigned. Michigan survived.
Indiana did as Indiana does, combining terrible defense with terrifying offense to push the Wolverines to the brink. Jordan Howard ran over, around, and through a shorthanded Michigan defense, gaining 238 yards on 35 carries. With the game in the balance and the ball at the two, however, Kevin Wilson called for a quick pass to Mitchell Paige; Delano Hill swatted the ball away to seal the win.
With Ryan Glasgow's absence disturbingly noticable, the offense and defense switched roles. Michigan couldn't rely on their front seven to slow Howard, while Indiana QB Nate Sudfeld played an efficient, turnover-free game; that was enough to produce 527 yards on 5.7 yards per play.
For the first time this season, however, Michigan could rely on their deep passing game. Jake Rudock and Jehu Chesson were brilliant. Rudock set a school record with six passing touchdowns—the previous record was four—and surpassed the career high he set last week with 440 yards on 46 attempts. He also led the way on the ground with 64 yards on seven carries, picking up timely first downs by breaking free of the pocket. Chesson tied the program record by hauling in four of Rudock's touchdowns, including a leaping grab in traffic to knot the score with two seconds left in regulation, and he set personal bests with ten catches for 207 yards.
It appared Michigan might coast to a comfortable, if not particularly convincing, victory as the Hoosiers traded field goals for Wolverine touchdowns in the first half. Rudock hit Chesson over the top for a 34-yard score on a free play to open the scoring; Michigan would hold leads of 14-6 and 21-9 after Chesson's subsequent first-half TDs before Howard finally broke through for a seven-yard touchdown in the final minute of the half. Even then, Michigan responded, marching 71 yards to the Indiana four before settling for a Kenny Allen field goal as time expired.
[Fuller]
Perhaps there was some comfort in a 24-16 lead, but any such feelings were gone almost as soon as the second half began; after knocking Michigan back 15 yards, Indiana closed to within a point on a 51-yard punt return touchdown by Paige, who strung his return out to the right before knifing through a tackle and finding the sideline. After Scott Sypniewski's snap hit the turf, causing a Kenny Allen field goal attempt to fall well short, IU closed the quarter with a Griffin Oakes field goal and an interception of Rudock on one of his few wayward throws.
The tables fully turned in the fourth quarter, when Michigan could muster only a field goal after a 15-play drive and the Hoosiers hit back with a 24-yard Howard TD and subsequent two-point conversion. With 2:52 left, Michigan had to drive 66 yards to avoid an upset that would all but eliminate them from division title contention.
Rudock didn't shy away from the moment, moving the offense down the field in a hurry with two completions to Jake Butt and a 41-yard bomb that Chesson came back for and caught at the two. After some harrowing moments as the Wolverines moved backwards, Chesson high-pointed Rudock's toss to bring Michigan within a point, and Blake O'Neill handled another sketchy snap just well enough for Allen to slip the tying extra point inside the left upright.
Howard continued his dominance in the first overtime, gaining 18 of Indiana's 25 yards and punching in the go-ahead touchdown. It took Michigan all of three plays to not only tie the game, but take the lead; first Rudock hit Butt on a post on the second play of M's first overtime possession, then found Amara Darboh uncovered on the first snap of the second overtime for an easy touchdown.
Three Howard runs quickly set IU up with a third-and-goal from the five, and it seemed certain they would bash ahead once or twice more and extend the game. Instead, Hill stopped Sudfeld short on a zone read keeper, and after Indiana showed pass prior to the next snap, Harbaugh called timeout to set up the final play. Paige motioned across the formation and Sudfeld hit him in rhythm, but Hill's blanket coverage won out.
Michigan survived the chaos and remains alive in the Big Ten race; they can control their own destiny if they beat Penn State and Ohio State takes cares of Michigan State next weekend. After an up-and-down first half of the year, the offense is hitting its stride, albeit with help from the generous Rutgers and Indiana defenses they've faced the last two weeks.
Glasgow's injury looms large, however. Jim Harbaugh announced after the game that the pectoral injury suffered last week will keep Michigan's D-line linchpin out for the season. Michigan faces a pair of top-notch running backs the next to close the regular season in Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott, to say nothing of the other weapons on Ohio State's offense. The line, the unquestioned strength of the team until this week, now has to stiffen up if the Wolverines want a shot at that ever-elusive Big Ten title.
November 14th, 2015 at 11:09 PM ^
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November 15th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 9:49 PM ^
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November 14th, 2015 at 9:51 PM ^
And I simply can't stand the thought of another loss to that shit head Urbz.
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:42 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 9:49 PM ^
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:43 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^
But yeah, I'm not sure why, but I had a much worse nervous/anxious thing going on tonight versus MSU. Probably bc at least with the MSU game, it mostly felt like we were in control. This game, once Indiana took the lead, gave me a feeling of dread until the last play was over.
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November 15th, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
I was going to vomit for most of the game.....
November 14th, 2015 at 9:54 PM ^
Both would really help us out in the rankings! We need to be top 10 when we play Ohio
November 14th, 2015 at 9:58 PM ^
I thought it was eerily like 2010 Illinois.
But in the 4th quarter, I realized it felt much more like 2010 Wisconsin. An opponent who could run on literally every play and there was jack squat we could do about it. Never thought I'd feel that helpless again. [shudder] Gave me the willies.
Thank Jeebus for Rudock. Never thought I'd be saying that, either.
November 14th, 2015 at 11:29 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 9:59 PM ^
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:03 PM ^
Kareem Walker. Watching Howard, Fournette and Elliott really highlights our weakness at this spot. Need a game breaker there. Period.
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:48 PM ^
Crazy that we have two 5* running backs on the roster and they have been passed by a fullback. What are the odds?
November 14th, 2015 at 11:00 PM ^
At this point, you just have to wonder if Issac or Green have the desire to compete.
November 14th, 2015 at 11:31 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 12:32 AM ^
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:05 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 10:13 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 10:21 PM ^
Is it me, or are DBs making a ton of plays that LBs should make, even setting aside the Peppers hybrid thing? It looks like Glasgow was covering up some serious weaknesses in our linebackers. Morgan looked weak against outside runs and, especially, passes prior to this. Now, without Glasgow, the middle is a sieve. Would like to see something confirming or denying that during the front page write-ups this week.
November 14th, 2015 at 10:52 PM ^
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November 15th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 7:42 AM ^
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November 14th, 2015 at 10:49 PM ^
I am going to list some of mine. List some of yours and see if we can come up with a (albiet arm chair/fan) blue print for winning out and becoming B1G Champs:
Concerns:
* Poise/lack of Pre-snap control
* OL has little to no run blocking prowess
* DL injuries (who is there to step up?)
* I cannot put my finger on it, yet at times on O and D we 'seem' to not know what is going on?
* Why are we losing contain on outside rushes?
* LB's not athletic/fast enough/good enough to make up for injuries on DL
* Punt/kick return defense
Strengths:
* Rudock seems to have time to throw so I will list this as a strength with the OL
* Rudock passing/scrambling/decision making/grit
* Legit above average recievers in Chesson and Butt
* Overall talent enough to win (later years talent to 'Dominate')
* Peppers
* Supperior coaching? (X's & O's certainly, yet I wonder if Harbaugh, Drevno, Durkin have some culpbabilty in the fist concern I posted?)
* Grit
Discuss
Go Blue!
November 14th, 2015 at 10:49 PM ^
2) Jake 504 IU '15
3) Denard 502 ND '10
Legit running game or not, I'll take those kinds of number.
November 14th, 2015 at 10:54 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
I was really hoping Harbaugh would go for two at the end of regulation and in the first OT. Seemed like the right call, no? We weren't stopping IU's run game to save our lives. Fortunately Kevin Wilson stopped it for us
November 15th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
Those were the right calls I thought. The one that boggled me was the choice to kick the FG in the late 3rd quarter when we got pushed back from the one yd line to the six.
It turned out to be the right decision, but I questioned it at the time.
November 14th, 2015 at 10:57 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 10:58 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 11:06 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^
Nothing left to do but complain about the announcers.
November 14th, 2015 at 11:27 PM ^
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November 15th, 2015 at 9:00 AM ^
Brandstatter is okay as a color man but is definitely not a lead guy. I miss Frank Beckmann so much on the radio. Dierdorf is a doofus.
November 15th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
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November 15th, 2015 at 12:31 AM ^
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November 15th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 2:29 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 11:16 PM ^
Yes we lost a key cog in the wheel on defense and we'll have adjust. But OsU lost two qb's last year and found a way to win games. Everyone up in arms about this team regressing is a little much IMO. IU may suck on D but they have some NFL talent sprinkled around their offense. They could easily have the record we have now with some luck and a little more seniority in the defensive backfield. I think harbs has done a pretty damn good job of turning this thing around in one year. He gets some more of his guys in here and yes he will be stanfordizing people on a more regular basis. But the offense now to what it was last year at this point is not even in the same solar system. At this point of the season its about winning and on to the next! Whoooos got it better than us? NOOOOOOOOBODDDDDY!
November 15th, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 11:39 PM ^
Practise David Dawson on D-line as well. I saw Strobel with lots of PT tonight.
November 15th, 2015 at 2:36 AM ^
Negative Ghostrider...big Dave does not project great on the defensive side of the ball.
November 15th, 2015 at 7:49 AM ^
November 14th, 2015 at 11:54 PM ^
November 15th, 2015 at 7:48 AM ^
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