Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
The streak lives on. For the 22nd straight time, the Michigan Wolverines knocked off the Indiana Hoosiers and 1987 remains the last time IU beat the Maize and Blue. For the second straight time in Bloomington, IU fell in overtime to their Big Ten East foe, this time 27-20.
The game began inauspiciously for the Indiana Hoosiers as they were forced to punt on their first possession and the Michigan Wolverines marched down the field and into scoring territory. However, IU’s defense stiffened inside the 25 and forced Michigan’s Quinn Nordin to connect on a 40 yard field goal that put UM ahead 3-0. IU put together a decent drive but Griffin Oakes had a 51 yard field goal blocked and the Wolverines returned the ball to the IU 27. Again though, the IU defense was up to the task. They gave up only six yards and Nordin nailed a 38 yard field goal to make the score 6-0. The Hoosiers were forced to punt again and Michigan put together a string of good runs that ended with a Karan Higdon 12 yard touchdown. The “Maize and Blue” were ahead by 13 and it appeared things were unravelling and the game was on its way to a blowout defeat on Homecoming in Bloomington. However, IU took some momentum back near the end of the first half as they finally found some offensive rhythm and got some help from Michigan penalties. Griffin Oakes hit a 32 yard field goal and IU entered the locker room trailing 13-3.
The second half began with a Wolverine three and out and then the best offensive drive of the day for IU as the Hoosiers fed Morgan Ellison for a number of solid runs. Ellison ultimately scampered up the middle and into the end zone from nine yards out. The Hoosiers trailed just 13-10. The two teams traded a number of unsuccessful offensive possessions and punts as the defenses completely took over and the game entered the fourth quarter. After a lengthy stalemate, Karan Higdon broke through the line of scrimmage and into the open field and went 59 yards for a critical score that felt like a gut punch in what had been a very tense defensive struggle. Michigan now had a 20-10 lead and IU’s offense had not been able to sustain any kind of momentum against Don Brown’s terrific defense. However, J-Shun Harris broke a punt return that he very nearly scored on before being brought down just outside of the 20 yard line. IU went to true freshman Whop Philyor on a pass across the middle and he dove into the end zone with 3:27 to play that cut the Michigan lead to 20-17. A perfectly executed onside kick was recovered by Simmie Cobbs but the officials somehow ruled that he was out of bounds before completing the catch. The Hoosiers defense forced a three and out and Michigan punted to the 20 with a ten yard holding penalty that gave IU the ball at the 30. Ramsey led the Hoosiers into position to try a 46 yard field goal as time expired and Griffin Oakes put it right through the uprights to send the game to overtime. The ten points IU scored in the fourth quarter were the first ones the Wolverines had surrendered in the final 15 minutes of action all season. Michigan started with the ball and Higdon scored his third touchdown of the game on the first play of the extra period. IU advanced inside the five yard line but failed to score on four straight plays. The game ended as a desperation throw by Ramsey was intercepted and Michigan once again escaped Memorial Stadium with a narrow victory.
The loss drops IU to 3-3 (0-3) and they now head to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon. The Hoosiers remain on track to make their third straight bowl game and there is no doubt the program continues to improve but today's loss will be one that stings for quite a while.
