Michigan Wolverines Football At Indiana — Keys To the Game

This is not your father’s Indiana team …

Well, actually, it might be, depending on how old you are. Tom Allen’s Hoosiers are reminiscent of some of head coach Bill Mallory’s teams back in the 1980s and early ‘90s in that they have some talent, they play hard and they have a winning record.

In fact, they’re assured to finish with their first winning season since 2007, when they went 7-6 with a loss in the Insight Bowl under Bill Lynch.

RELATED: Podcast With Borton and Jim_S

RELATED: Videos: Nua Talks Hinton's Progress, Harbaugh on Chris Evans

Indiana hasn’t beaten Michigan since 1987, the longest any Big Ten opponent has gone without a win over the Wolverines. Interestingly, though, there’s been only one blowout since a 34-3 victory in Bloomington in 2006, and that was a 34-10 victory in 2014.

There have been a pair of overtime wins and several fourth-quarter games in the last eight meetings, so the Hoosiers probably won’t be intimidated heading into this one.

Here’s what Michigan has to do to win in Bloomington and improve to 9-2 heading into the finale with Ohio State:

Be gap sound on defense: Indiana’s passing game hasn’t slowed since backup Peyton Ramsey, who has had some success against Michigan in the past, replaced injured Michael Penix Jr. (collarbone) in the starting lineup. Ramsey, in fact, threw for 371 yards and completed 75.6 percent of his passes against a solid Penn State defense last week … and on the road, no less.

The Hoosiers, though, become much more difficult to defend when running back Stevie Scott gets loose like he did last year. He put up 139 yards on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, and he’s a big back capable of breaking tackles and keeping the chains moving. Give him a crease and he’ll pick up yards in chunks.

Slowing IU’s potent passing game starts with making the Hoosiers one-dimensional and putting their offense in second- and third-and-long situations. That requires getting off blocks and being where you’re supposed to be on defense, something the Wolverines have done extremely well over the last several weeks.

Scott hasn’t been a factor against the three toughest defenses he’s faced, managing 1.5 yards per carry against Ohio State, 3.7 at Michigan State and 3.2 at Penn State. The Wolverines need to make that continue.

Pressure Peyton Ramsey and make him uncomfortable: This one’s easier said than done. Ramsey has been fantastic when called upon this year — and as evidenced by his showing at Penn State, he’s not just padding his stats against poor defensive teams. He was harassed by Ohio State’s outstanding defense and sacked five times but still managed to complete 19 of 33 passes for 162 yards.

Ramsey has thrown for 1,673 yards, 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions this season, and he’s now completing 72.7 percent of his passes. According to the Indianapolis Star, that’s put him within striking distance of Dan Persa’s (Northwestern) single-season Big Ten record (73.5).

Were Ramsey’s career to end today, he’d own the league’s career completion percentage record by 2.5 percent (67.4 to 64.9) over Iowa ‘s Chuck Long, a mid-1980s standout.

In short, letting him get comfortable given the outstanding receivers the Hoosiers feature — Whop Philyor (whose status for the game iw uncertain because of a concussion suffered against Penn State ) has 61 catches for 863 yards, while Ty Fryfogle boasts 38 for 502, and both average over 13 yards per reception — could result in a long day. U-M has done a better job against the crossing routes IU burned the Wolverines with a year ago, but the Hoosiers are in the top 25 percent nationally in protecting the quarterback, allowing only 1.5 sacks per game (tied for 31st nationally).

This will be a challenge for the defense.

Be balanced on offense and convert on third down: The Hoosiers are 10th nationally in pass defense, allowing only 176.6 yards per game. At the same time, they’re also allowing a respectable 139.7 yards on the ground (46th in the land) and limiting explosive plays, atypical from years past.

Indiana is 12th nationally in plays allowed of 10 or more yards (104) and 20th in 20-plus yarders allowed (36). The Wolverines might have to string some drives together the way Penn State did in its win, including an 18-play, nine-minute beauty to put the game away. That will require U-M to be effective on third down like they were against Michigan State, when they converted on eight of 13.

One thing seems pretty certain about this Indiana team — it’s improving, and there are playmakers on both sides of the ball. In the past, the Hoosiers might have a few guys to key on … now it’s a handful, and in a way it’s now “pick your poison” even with Penix out and Ramsey in.

“If you don’t see it, I think you’re not paying much attention,” Allen said of his team’s resurgence. “I think there’s no doubt. Get on the road and those are tough places to play, and we’re right there.

“You talk about the progress you go through and how you build a program. This season we've won games that in the past we’ve not been able to finish, and now we’re playing highly ranked teams and are right there with them, as well.”

Michigan needs to continue to play well in order to cover the seven-point spread. Play a bad game and an upset would certainly be possible.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook