Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

What: Indiana Hoosiers (2-3) at Michigan Wolverines (6-0)

When: Saturday, October 14 at Noon

Where: Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI

How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FOX and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.

Series History: The Hoosiers and Wolverines have met 71 times on the gridiron with Michigan winning 61 of those matchups. Indiana beat Michigan in 2020 by a score of 38-21 but that is the lone Hoosiers victory since 1987. Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines beat IU 29-7 in 2021 and 31-10 in 2022. IU has not won in Ann Arbor since 1967.

What’s at Stake: The Michigan Wolverines have crushed opponents thus far and are cruising towards the matchups against Penn State and Ohio State. It is critical for them to maintain momentum and their unbeaten record prior to those showdowns. The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off of a bye week and attempting to find a bit of success. IU has a new offensive coordinator (Rod Carey) and has to find some answers prior to next week’s game with Rutgers.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR

New Voice on Offense

Walt Bell is gone and the Hoosiers have a new voice leading the offense. Rod Carey is now the offensive coordinator after being awarded a contract that takes him through the 2025 season. Carey has been with the program for 18 months so he knows the personnel and will already have a feel for how he wants utilize everyone. That said, he only has two weeks to make changes and tweaks and there is not all that much that can change in that timeframe. Who will Carey go with at quarterback? How will he weaponize Jaylin Luas? Will there be any success at all against this stout Michigan defense?

Dominant Defense

Through six games, the Michigan defense has surrendered 6.7 points per game and no team has run a play inside of the Wolverines ten-yard line. Michigan has not played exceptional competition but regardless, they have been unbelievably good. There are no bonafide stars on this unit but the Wolverines have multiple players that will be drafted and end up on All-American teams. Junior Colson leads the team in tackles but Michigan already has 13 players with at least ten tackles on the campaign. Teams are only converting 29.73% of their third-down plays and only averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Getting any traction on the ground will be a mammoth challenge for an IU team that has been poor running the ball.

Efficient Offense

Michigan does not have the most explosive vertical passing game but they more than make up for that with peak efficiency on the offensive side of the ball. J.J. McCarthy is completing 77.6% of his passes on 10.3 yards per attempt with eleven touchdowns and only three interceptions. McCarthy mainly gets the ball to receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson along with tight end Colston Loveland and running back Donovan Edwards. Wilson has been the best target with eight touchdowns on his 22 catches. The ground game has been terrific, as expected. Blake Corum is averaging almost six yards per carry with ten touchdowns. Donovan Edwards has been disappointing thus far but he can take it to the house with every touch and could break out at any time. Michigan is scoring 37.3 points per game and likely has not even had to push themselves on offense yet.