Written By Nathan Comp

Indiana’s penultimate clash will come on the road at the University of Michigan. Despite losing by only a touchdown in 2015 (overtime), 10 points in 2016, and again a single touchdown in 2017 (overtime, again), Indiana has historically been awful against the Wolverines. They have been both Indiana’s closest shot at a breakthrough and their kryptonite. Michigan holds a 57-9 career record against the Hoosiers and currently hold a 22-game win streak dating back to 1988. Today, we’ll offer a preseason preview of the matchup and see if Indiana has the chance to right the ship in 2018.

Week Eleven: University of Michigan Wolverines

Date & Time: Saturday November 17, 2018, Time TBD

Venue: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI

TV: TBA

Wolverines at a Glance

Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh

- His 4th Year at the helm, holds a 28-11 record.

- Coaching at his alma mater, where he played QB for Coach Bo Schembechler. This is his second college coaching gig, the first coming at Stanford.

- Played in the NFL for 14 seasons and was the head coach of both the San Diego Toreros and the San Francisco 49ers.

- Criticized for his 1-5 combined record against rivals Michigan State and Ohio State during his tenure and never finishing higher than 3rd in the Big Ten East.

2017 UM: 8-5 (5-4, B1G Ten). Lost in the Outback Bowl on New Years Day to South Carolina 19-26.

Wolverines Returning Leaders

Passing: Brandon Peters, Redshirt Sophomore. Career: 57-108 (52.8 Comp%) for 672 Yds, 4 TD, 2 INT

Rushing: Karan Higdon, Senior. Career: 247 Att, 1438 Yds, 17 TDs

Receiving: Tarik Black, Sophomore. Career: 11 Rec, 149 Yds, 1 TD

Tackles: Devin Bush, Junior. Career: 106 TKLs, 5.5 Sacks

Wolverines Pre-Season Predictions

Athlon: 10-2 (7-2 B1G), 2nd in Big Ten East

Lindy’s: 4th in the Big Ten East

Street & Smith’s: 2nd in the Big Ten East

Phil Steele: 2nd in the Big Ten East

Impact Newcomers for the Wolverines

Shea Patterson, QB: The player that easily has the most potential as an impact newcomer for the Wolverine squad has to be Ole Miss graduate transfer Shea Patterson. Patterson has been one of the most talked about players throughout all of college football this offseason. He was granted eligibility back in April and now has his eyes set on the starting quarterback job for a team that has struggled to find the right fit behind center in years past. Now, although it is still a hotly contested quarterback competition in Ann Arbor, it appears as if Harbaugh will have the quarterback he has so desperately craved. His biggest weakness? Turnovers. Patterson threw 12 interceptions and fumbled 8 times in 10 games as an Ole Miss Rebel last year.

Luiji Vilain, DL: Luiji Vilain was a member of the 2017 recruiting class and redshirted his first season. The former blue-chip recruit has put in the time and now looks to be a huge contributor on what should be another stout defensive unit. Luiji has great speed, tremendous size, and bursts to the football. Defensive Coordinator Don Brown will be happy to have him at his disposal in 2018.

Drew Singleton, LB: Mike McCray’s departure at the left linebacker position for the Wolverines left one of the few vacancies on the Wolverine defense. Looking to fill this spot will be redshirt freshman Drew Singleton. However, he will have stiff competition against sophomores Devin Gil and Josh Ross, who are both looking for an expanded role on the team in 2018.

Offensive Preview

The weakness on the Michigan team will most certainly come on the offensive side of the ball. The 2017 Michigan offense was horrendous and certainly the downfall of the team reaching its highest potential. Harbaugh and former offensive coordinator Tim Drevno attempted to establish a complicated NFL system with primarily freshman and sophomores. This resulted in a ranking of 105 in total offense, 91 in scoring offense, and a meager 9 TD passes. Now, Drevno has moved on to USC. However, Harbaugh has yet to name an official offensive coordinator and rather has said that there is great collaboration between Ed Warinner, Pep Hamilton, and Jim McElwain. Either way, Michigan will have to find a better identity on offense to achieve up to their standards and take some of the heat off Harbaugh.

The Wolverines’ success will likely depend on the quarterback position. It has been the weakness of Harbaugh’s Michigan teams for all three years and it is still a question mark coming into 2018. Shea Patterson, Brandon Peters, redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey, and true freshman Joe Milton continue to share reps in fall practices. Shea Patterson seems to be the favorite, but when he got hurt at Ole Miss his replacement put up just as impressive of numbers. The Michigan optimist will say Patterson is the answer. The pessimist will say he just came from a quarterback-friendly system, which Harbaugh has not proven to have. The answer will be revealed this season. Either way, having speedy youth at receiver in Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black will help.

The strength of the Michigan offenses in the past have come from the rushing game. In fact, it has won Michigan games by itself. The return of running backs Karon Higdon and Chris Evans will give Michigan stability at the running back position. However, the Wolverines are unlikely to boast as impressive of an offensive line as they have in years past, which could hurt both their rushing and passing games. They are likely to have to start a freshman somewhere along the line, so their line play will be key to their offensive success.

When considering the matchup against Indiana, it will be key for the Hoosier defense to do two things. First, it must be able to keep the rushing game under control. Limiting Michigan’s running game will force the game into the hands of the uncertain quarterback position. This leads to key two for the Indiana defense: keep the quarterback in the pocket. The Wolverine quarterbacks of the past have been unable to extend plays outside of the pocket. That will not be true this year, so forcing the Michigan QB to complete passes from the pocket against what appears to be a strength, Indiana’s defensive secondary, will be a main focus.

Defensive Preview

If it wasn’t the Michigan rushing attack that was winning them games, it has been their defense. And it likely has been their defense. In 2016 and 2017 Michigan had one of the most elite defenses in the nation that proved it could stop anyone and keep their shaky offense in games. Don Brown’s defensive units continue to impress and become more aggressive as time goes on. The 2018 defensive squad for Michigan looks to be just as impressive and will again be relied upon.

Brown’s defensive schemes are built around violent nastiness. Leading the way in this nastiness will be defensive ends Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, who combined for 14 sacks in 2017. They’ll lose All-American nose tackle Maurice Hurst, but two potential replacements loom in his absence: former five-star recruit Aubrey Solomon and experienced veteran Bryan Mone.

Moving back a level to the linebackers, Michigan will have to replace Mike McCray, but Preseason All-American Devin Bush should fill the void. Khaleke Hudson has also drawn comparisons to the likes of former Michigan safety and Heisman candidate Jabril Peppers. He will serve as a perfect player in Brown’s “Viper” position, similar to that of the husky position in Indiana’s defense.

Finally, to make the Michigan defense all-around nasty, the defensive secondary was one of the nation’s best in 2017. They allowed a meager 150.1 yards per game and just 5.9 yards per attempt. And scarily enough, this was achieved with primarily underclassmen. Every starter will return, headlined by corners Lavert Hill, Brandon Watson, and David Long, who all combined for 22 passes defended in 2018.

For Indiana to attack Michigan’s defense, it will likely become a game of field position. If Michigan’s defense is able to force turnovers and give their weaker offense a short field, it will be a long day for Indiana. However, if Indiana is able to sustain drives, protect the ball, and force the Michigan offense to drive the length of the field, it could be a different story. Sometimes, the Michigan offense’s greatest strength is having their defense putting them in favorable positions.

Special Teams Preview

In the 2017 kicking game, Michigan somewhat struggled. However, their special teams units were filled with true freshman. Quinn Nordin will return with a year’s experience under his belt place kicking, and Brad Robbins should improve his punt efficiency and show why he was the #1 ranked punter in the 2017 recruiting class.

Real danger can be found in the Michigan return game, headlined by sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones. Peoples-Jones filled Peppers position returning kicks for the Wolverines and although was not as tantalizing, showed flashes of real potential. Indiana will have to focus on either keeping the ball out of his hands, or only allowing him to touch it with perfect punt coverage.

The Huddle

First Glance Preview: Can Indiana Finally Get Over the Hump at The Big House?