5 takeaways from Michigan's 31-10 win over Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. --- It wasn't easy for Michigan football in Bloomington.

Still, the Wolverines finished the job in a 31-10 victory over Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

After the defense shutout Indiana's offensive attack in the second half, Jim Harbaugh's team cruised to victory thanks to an impressive effort from the Wolverines' defense.

Below are five takeaways from the Wolverines' win over the Hoosiers.

Michigan prides itself on trench play, especially as a downhill running team that relies on its front to push and create space for the backs.

After junior RB Blake Corum started his day with a 50-yard run followed by a 1-yard TD run the next play, he went quiet due to his O-line's inability to hold off the Hoosiers' front.

Corum, who leads the country in rushing touchdowns, found a way to make it work, turning in his third consecutive 100-yard-plus performance on 25 carries.

Still, there was a point in the game where 13 of 16 carries by Corum went for 3 yards or less.

We'll have the Pro Football Focus grades posted following the game, but Michigan fans shouldn't anticipate a friendly score for its offensive line's performance in the run game, which is something we haven't seen much of dating back to last season.

Michigan's defense won the game in the second half.

After looking awfully vulnerable during the first half, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter's defense shut down the Hoosiers passing attack that attempted 31 passes in the first two quarters.

With 9 minutes to go in the game, Indiana only had 29 second-half yards after going for 196 in the first.

The defensive line shined, totaling seven sacks as a team, most coming from the line, and shockingly, the sacks were unique, spread across seven different players.

Minter's group bent but was far from breaking despite the challenge from IU, dominating the second half.

The offensive game plan wasn't working beyond the first scripted drive for Michigan, but it didn't seem to change.

Against Indiana's 118th-ranked passing defense, McCarthy didn't attempt a pass with more than 15 air yards.

Coming out of the second half, co-coordinators Matt Weiss & Sherrone Moore found a groove in the passing game, probably because they were finally drawing it up rather than relying on Corum to carry the load for a third-straight week after tallying 30 and 29 carries, respectively, against Maryland & Iowa.

After McCarthy totaled three passes for 15-plus yard gains in the first half, he came out in the second half and made five 15-plus yards plays and two touchdown passes, despite an interception in a forced window in the end zone, nearly allowing the Hoosiers to stick around.

Once Michigan discovered passing the ball effectively was the simplest and easiest key to offensive success, it cruised through the bulk of the second half.

The problem is how long it took and what that might look like against Penn State, who comes to Ann Arbor next week for a top-10 matchup.

Michigan's defensive halftime adjustments neutralized the tempo, making the Hoosiers look like a team who could play spoiler on Saturday.

The Wolverine defense likes to work in a lot of subs with an 8-deep defensive line rotation. Subbing in fresh legs on the D-line isn't uncommon, but Jesse Minter subbed linebackers in & out, which is irregular.

ILB Junior Colson was consistently taken out of the game by Jesse Minter, rotating with freshman linebacker Jimmy Rolder. The two linebackers rotated on rushing (Colson) & passing (Rolder) downs.

The mass subs were problematic, and as Indiana rushed its offense and utilized bunch sets to complicate Michigan's coverage, the U-M defense looked clueless at times.

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