Junior quarterback Shea Patterson once again helped lead Michigan's offense to victory on Saturday, just as he has done so many times this year.
He not only dazzled through the air — 16-of-28 passing for 250 yards, one touchdown and one pick — but also with his feet. The junior rushed for 68 yards on nine carries, averaging 7.6 yards per touch.
Patterson's statistics were some of the best he has posted all season — his 250 yards were the third most he had thrown for in 2018, while his 68 yards on the ground were the second most (behind the 90 he had in the win over Wisconsin).
Patterson's lone touchdown pass of the day came with 4:46 remaining in the second quarter when he hit redshirt sophomore tight end Nick Eubanks over the middle for a 41-yard score, which at the time put U-M up 15-10 (it failed on the two-point conversion attempt).
The junior could have easily had another TD on his resume against the Hoosiers, but wide open, redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry could not pull in a low pass in the end zone in the second quarter, resulting in Michigan settling for a field goal.
The Wolverines also spoiled another golden opportunity to put points on the board when they marched down to the IU 2-yard line with only seconds remaining before halftime, only to see the clock run out on them.
Junior tight end Sean McKeon was tackled in bounds on the final play of the half, and the offense didn't have enough time to get lined back up and spike the ball.
"We tried to kill the clock," head coach Jim Harbaugh explained in the postgame. "There seemed to be some problems getting the ball back in. I don't know if that was us not getting it back to the official quick enough, but they seemed to kick the ball.
"I don’t know. I’ll have to look at that, but that’s what happened and it was unfortunate."
One of the few negatives surrounding Patterson's performance on Saturday was his interception midway through the third quarter. It was the first pick he had thrown since the Oct. 6 win over Maryland and just his fourth of the year.
On a day where U-M honored its graduating players prior to the game, many speculated whether or not it was also the signal-caller's final game in The Big House.
Patterson admittedly took a little extra time to soak in the surroundings once the contest was over.
“Just seeing all those fans and getting to see my family — I’ve never really taken the time to do that after a game," Patterson explained afterward. "I just wanted to enjoy it — both the win and seeing all the fans.”
Karan Higdon Records Yet Another 100-Yard Performance
Senior running back Karan Higdon's streak of seven straight 100-yard outings came to an end last week at Rutgers (he rushed for 42 yards), but he started a new one on Saturday against Indiana, tallying 101 yards and a score on 21 carries.
The senior averaged 4.8 yards per touch while adding a crucial touchdown run at the 9:44 mark of the third quarter, which gave U-M a 22-17 lead at the time.
Higdon had to grind out every yard he earned, evidenced by his longest rush being just 14 yards.
The 100-yard showing was the eighth of the season for the senior, and the 13th of his career, which moves him into a tie for eighth place all time with Gordon Bell (1973-75), Billy Taylor (1969-71) and Tim Biakabutuka (1993-95).
Meanwhile, the rushing score was his 10th of 2018 and the 27th of his career. He now stands alone in 13th place in U-M's record books.
Junior running back Chris Evans, meanwhile, carried 10 times but tallied just 44 yards, while junior Tru Wilson posted 42 yards on six touches. Patterson's 7.6-yard clip was the team's best, followed by Wilson's 7.0.
In all, the Maize and Blue ground game accumulated 257 yards, which were the fifth most it had notched in a game this year.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Redshirt freshman receiver Tarik Black hauled in a five-yard pass in the second quarter, marking his first catch of the season. It was his first grab since the Sept. 16 win over Air Force last year.
• Saturday's contest lasted three hours and 38 minutes.
• Michigan's 31 points were the fewest it had scored in a home game all year. The previous low had been the 38 it posted on Wisconsin Oct. 13.
• Eubanks' 41-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first score of his career and made him the third Wolverine tight end to haul in a TD this season (Gentry and McKeon are the other two).
• Fifth-year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty started the game at right tackle but departed after the first series, allowing redshirt freshman Andrew Stueber to play the rest of the contest.
"Juwann came out of the last game and was working through something," Harbaugh revealed afterward. "He tried hard to go, but we felt like Stueber would be more effective. We'll get Juwann back to 100 percent next week."
• U-M's 507 yards were the most it had logged all season, surpassing the previous high of 491 in the Sept. 22 win over Nebraska.
• The 11-point victory was the Wolverines' second-closest triumph all year. The only win that was tighter was the 20-17 decision at Northwestern on Sept. 29.
• Gentry caught two passes against IU for 83 yards (a 41-yarder and a 42-yarder). His previous career-long had been 36 yards, which he accomplished last season against Cincinnati. The two grabs extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 15.
• U-M's 25 first downs were the most it had racked up all year, with its previous high being 24 against Maryland and Rutgers.
• Prior to Saturday, Michigan had won every home game by at least 21 points. A victory by that margin on Saturday would have marked the first time since 1901 that U-M had won every home game in a season by at least 21 points.
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