Michigan 21 Indiana 38 - Week 3 Recap | By Fans...For Fans Since 1999 | UMGOBLUE.COM Michigan Wolverine Football & Basketball

WEEK3 PROJECTION vs. RESULTS

Final Score: 21-38, Indiana by 17 over Michigan
SP+ Projection: Michigan by 2.1 (-19.1)
CD Projection: Michigan by 1 (-18)

FIVE FACTORS

WEEK 3 RECAP @ Indiana

For the second week in a row, Michigan was outplayed and lost. In some sense you have to give the Hoosiers the respect they deserve. That doesn’t help soothe the deep disappointment for this team. Jim Harbaugh must go back to the drawing board and get all his guys onto the same page. If he cannot keep the team together through this challenging season, it will be hard for me to believe he can restore the program.

The Michigan offensive line was behind the eight ball right away without both starting tackles. The running game was only able to produce an 8% success rate, and 1.6 yards per play. On the first watch, I didn’t see very much read-option, if at all. I don’t know why there is such hesitation to use Joe Milton in the run game, but it’s clearly been taken out of the game plan. I will give Gattis and Joe Milton a lot of credit for bouncing back in the second half. The offense was dangerous enough in the 2nd half to threaten the whole field, but still couldn’t click in the most critical spots.

The Hoosiers copied the Michigan State offensive game plan of chuck and hope versus the Michigan corners. It was almost as successful this week. There was a clear commitment to back off into more zone coverages to take some heat off Vincent Gray and Gemon Green. Indiana was able to find large holes and Michael Penix had a career day. There was pressure on Penix, and Michigan caused some errant throws. This was despite Aiden Hutchinson leaving with an apparent foot or ankle injury in the first quarter. The defense managed to slow Indiana down in the 2nd half, but could not get off the field on key plays. Indiana ran 87 snaps on offense, compared to just 52 for Michigan.