Know Your Opponent: Are the Hoosiers Catching the Wolverines at the Right Time?

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh (2nd Year at Michigan)
Overall: 77-31 (.713) 9th year
At Michigan 19-4 (12-3)
Bowl Appearances: 1
Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (6-2) Beat Florida 41-7 in the Citrus Bowl
This Year’s Record: 9-1 (6-1)
Postseason Appearances Since 2000: 13 Appearances (5-8 Record)
Mascot: Wolverine
Colors: Maize and Blue
Outfitter: Jordan Brand
National Titles: 11
Conference Titles: 42
Heisman Winners: 3
Fun Fact:

Michigan football has the longest streak of having an attendance of 100,000 fans at 265 games. The streak started on November 8, 1975 against Purdue. Michigan is also the most televised team in college football history with 437 games broadcast on the airwaves.

1. Michigan Has a Run Game by Committee

The Wolverines are a true running back by committee team as they have seven players who have carried the ball at least 15 times, not including quarterback Wilton Speight who has 26 carries for negative-36 yards. Michigan’s number one rushing option has been De’Veon Smith who has carried the ball 121 times for a team-high 592 yards and eight touchdowns. Smith is probably the least explosive of the running backs, outside of the fullback, averaging 4.89 yards per carry. 

Michigan’s second leading rusher is Indianapolis native and true freshman Chris Evans who has been impressive gaining 508 yards on 65 carries and scoring three times. Michigan also has senior Ty Isaac, 69 attempts, 411 yards and five touchdowns, as well as sophomore Karan Higdon who has 415 yards on 65 attempts and six scores. The Wolverines also feature touchdown vulture, full back Khalid Hill who has just 22 carries for 36 yards, but nine touchdowns. Hill is 6’2” and is listed at 263 pounds, so he will be a load to take down in goal line situations.

Michigan also likes to get some of their better skill position players the ball in space. Freshman wide receiver Eddie McDoom (talk about an awesome football name) has 154 yards on 15 carries and doing everything linebacker Jabrill Peppers has 21 carries for 161 yards and three touchdowns. With Wilton Speight reportedly sidelined for the rest of the regular season, look for Michigan to lean heavily on the running game. 

2. John O’Korn is the Next Man Up at Quarterback For the Wolverines

So much for the section we had trying to explain Wilton Speight and how he has been very solid for most of the season. It was reported on Monday afternoon by Ace Anbender of MGoBlog.com that Michigan the starting quarterback would miss the rest of the season with a broken collarbone. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh told the media before that report came out that Speight would be a game-time decision for Saturday. So it looks like Michigan will turn to back-up John O’Korn who transferred from Houston after the 2014 season.

After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules O’Korn battled Speight for the starting job until the last second. Once Speight won the job he held onto it until being injured against Iowa last week. O’Korn has appeared sparingly in 2016 in eight games this year as he has completed 13-of-18 of his passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He has also rushed the ball six times for 12 yards.

It has been a while since O’Korn has started a college football game, but if you go back to his time at Houston, you can get a feeling of what kind of quarterback we could see on Saturday. He had a tremendous freshman season throwing for 3,117 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He looked like he was on his way to a great career for the Cougars, until he started having consistency issues. In the process of losing his starting job as a sophomore, O’Korn saw his completion percentage drop from 58.1 to just 52 and threw eight interceptions to just six touchdowns in six games. Even if he gets all the first-team reps at practice this week there will still be rust to knock off and nerves to deal with. If Indiana can shut down the running game like they did against Penn State, O’Korn will have to chuck it and that could be an issue for Michigan. 

3. The Wolverine Defense is Suffocating

Michigan’s defensive coordinator Don Brown is nicknamed ‘Dr. Blitz’ and he hasn’t disappointed in his first season in Ann Arbor as the Wolverine defense is first nationally in scoring, passing and total defense, and 13th in rush defense. They also sit third in the country in tackles for a loss.

Michigan’s defense is led by a trio of linebackers in Jabrill Peppers, Ben Gedeon, and Mike McCary who have combined for 191 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, and an interception. The reason the linebackers can be so good is that the Michigan defensive line is the best in the nation. Michigan can go six-deep on the line with Taco Charlton, Chris Wormley, Chase Winnovich, Maurice Hurst, Ryan Glasgow, and Rashan Gary. Those six players have combined for 20.5 sacks and 38.5 tackles for loss. Oh and don’t forget the Michigan secondary that features Jourdan Lewis (two interceptions) and Delano Hill (three interceptions). 

4. Jabrill Peppers Will Play Everywhere

Peppers may be the best player in the country because of both his talent and his ability to play almost anywhere on the field. He is at worst an all-conference player at linebacker with 58 tackles and 13 TFL’s. He has scored three times while running the ball out of the ‘wildcat’ 21 times and he has three catches. However, the way Peppers can impact the game the most is probably in the punt return game where he has been electric averaging 17.25 yards per return with a touchdown. Joseph Gedeon and the Hoosier punt coverage team must know where he is at all times and not let him make a guy miss a tackle, because as soon as he has a lane he is gone. 

5. Watch Out For Michigan’s Big Three in the Passing Game

When John O’Korn takes the reigns of the Michigan offense on Saturday (probably) he will have lots of weapons at his disposal. Indiana knows all too well whom those weapons in the passing game after getting torched last season. The three biggest receiving threats are Jake Butt, arguably the best tight end in the country and wide receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh.

Darboh leads the Wolverines with 43 receptions 746 yards and six touchdowns. He is a legitimate deep threat for Michigan and can score from anywhere on the field. On the other side is senior Jehu Chesson, who is more of a possession receiver, but he can also stretch the field. Chesson has 27 catches for 446 yards and two scores. However, the player that may give the Hoosiers the most trouble is tight end Jake Butt. He is a mismatch for linebackers because of his speed and is too big for most safeties. He has 38 grabs for 460 yards and four scores. Much like the game against Penn State, Indiana will have to choose their poison.