Hoosiers Fall 52-7 After Early Signs of Life on Offense Against Michigan

Written by: TJ Inman

The Indiana Hoosiers entered Saturday’s game with a new offensive coordinator and fresh off a bye week, hoping to reboot the season after a frustrating blowout loss to Maryland two weeks ago. However, the Hoosiers were in Ann Arbor and had to play the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines. After a strong start and quite possibly the best quarter the Hoosiers have played in a couple of seasons, the Maize and Blue overwhelmed the Cream and Crimson and rolled to a 52-7 win to drop IU to 2-4 on the season. Michigan improved to 7-0 and there is a very real chance they end up as the best team in the country.

The Indiana Hoosiers began the contest with the ball and Tayven Jackson got the nod at quarterback on the first series. IU’s offense got off to a rough start, going backwards and punting after three plays. James Evans shanked his punt and Michigan took over at the 48-yard line and in great position to take an early lead. IU’s defense was equal to the challenge though, sacking J.J. McCarthy on third down and forcing a three and out for the Wolverines. The Hoosiers began their second drive on the 24-yard line and found a rhythm on offense, driving into UM territory with a nice mix of run and pass plays. The drive ended in disappointment though as Tayven Jackson threw a third-down pass between targets and it was intercepted by Michigan and returned to the 41-yard line. Again though, the Hoosiers defense got to McCarthy and sacked him, forcing another three and out. Brendan Sorsby entered the game at quarterback and IU’s offense continued to find success. Sorsby ran for a couple of first downs and immediately after securing a new set of downs with a quarterback sneak, Rod Carey dialed up a trick play resulting in a touchdown. Sorsby threw a backwards pass to former quarterback Donaven McCulley and the wideout lofted a perfect pass to a wide open Jaylin Lucas for the opening score with 2:07 remaining in the first quarter. The Wolverines continued to struggle to block IU’s defensive front as Aaron Casey forced a fumble but McCarthy converted a key third down to end the first quarter. Michigan settled in on offense and relied on Blake Corum to pound the ball, eventually scoring on a short run for the running back to tie the contest at seven. IU picked up another first down but failed to convert on third and short and had to punt back to Michigan. J.J. McCarthy avoided IU’s pass rush and was on target, finding Tyler Morris to get in scoring position and then connecting with Roman Wilson on fourth and goal to take the lead with 3:24 left in the first half. This is the point of the game when things fell apart for the Hoosiers. Brendan Sorsby threw a beautiful pass for a 37-yard gain to Donaven McCulley. There was a flag on the play though and instead of IU driving to potentially tie the game, it was a personal foul on Zach Carpenter and the Wolverines got the ball back with 1:34 left in the half. Marcus Burris was called for a personal foul for a hit on J.J. McCarthy to aid Michigan’s offense and Blake Corum scored another short touchdown to give UM a 21-7 lead to end the first half.

The Wolverines ended the first half with 21 straight points and had the ball to begin the second half. IU had the offense facing a third and ten and J.J. McCarthy was flushed from the pocket but he stayed calm and lobbed the ball into a hole in the IU defense and Colson Loveland galloped for a 54-yard touchdown to make it 28-7 and effectively end the contest.

The Hoosiers went three and out and Michigan was set up with good field position again. Semaj Morgan broke multiple tackles and plowed into the endzone to make it 35-7 and the route was thoroughly on in Ann Arbor. Tayven Jackson re-entered the game but continued to struggle. The redshirt freshman was sacked and Michigan forced a fumble. Michael Barrett recovered the loose ball and the Wolverines had the ball at IU’s 15-yard line. The Hoosiers defense continued to have a bit of success getting to McCarthy as Myles Jackson forced a fumble that was recovered by Michigan and then IU tracked the quarterback down short of the end zone and forced a short field goal attempt. Brendan Sorsby came back in with IU trailing 38-7 as IU tried to find any type of success on offense. Omar Cooper made a phenomenal catch to get a first down but the Hoosiers could not convert on fourth down and short and Brendan Sorsby lost the ball, giving Michigan great field position yet again. The Wolverines scored again, this time with Donavan Edwards to make it 45-7. Tayven Jackson lobbed a ball deep that did not have a chance of being completed and Michigan intercepted the pass to gain back possession. Former IU quarterback Jack Tuttle completed a pass on fourth and goal to continue to pour it on, making the score 52-7. Indiana strung together a few first downs to milk the clock and an apparent touchdown catch for Omar Cooper was overturned by video review to end the game.

The first quarter belonged to Indiana but the remainder of the game was all Wolverines. Michigan only outgained Indiana 187-166 in the first half but the total yardage ended 407-232 in favor of the Wolverines. Brendan Sorsby was far from perfect but he did have a better day than Tayven Jackson and it would be a surprise if IU’s starter against Rutgers was anyone other than Sorsby. The redshirt freshman from Texas added an element to IU’s offense with his rushing but the supremely talented Michigan Wolverines were way too much for Indiana. The Hoosiers return home and look to find a much-needed win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights next Saturday.