Michigan 20, Indiana 10: The storm before the storm and tackling the ghost

So much for the proverbial calm before the storm.

Michigan headed into its penultimate regular-season game simply looking to survive, without Wilton Speight, against a capable Indiana team before heading to Columbus for a shot at a division title. With reports of bad weather on the horizon and backup quarterback John O'Korn getting the starting nod, it wasn't hard to guess how the game would have to be won: defense and the running game.

Michigan used those very things, holding the Hoosiers to 10 points and a season-low 255 yards, a significant improvement from last year's effort in Bloomington. On top of that, the often brilliant yet often criticized senior De'Veon Smith had a career day, notching 158 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

But late in the third quarter, the outcome floated in the air, blowing left and right like the wind and the snowflakes that would slowly envelop Michigan Stadium in a blustery maelstrom.

Down 10-6 late in the third quarter, the stagnating Michigan offense faced a third-and-8 from its own 36. To that point, the Wolverines had converted just one of nine third-down attempts.

O'Korn dropped back, giving the token play-action fake. Two unblocked Hoosiers screaming toward him, the transfer from Houston deftly split them and headed to daylight down the left side. Thirty yards later, O'Korn was brought down. He bounced back up, pumping his fist and breathing smoke into the cold Ann Arbor air.

Years from now, when Indiana fans remember this game, that's the play that will come to mind. And rightfully so, because the game quickly shifted in Michigan's favor from there. On the next play, Smith rumbled 34 yards for a score, which proved to be the winning tally.

Later in the third, after pinning Indiana deep in its own territory, the Wolverines got the ball back starting at the IU 39. Again, Smith made quick work of things. After an O'Korn incomplete pass, Smith went 39 yards for his second score of the day, giving Michigan a 20-10 lead that was essentially insurmountable given the weather conditions.

With the win, Michigan recorded its first consecutive 10-win seasons since 2002-2003. Let that sink in for a minute.

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Needless to say, this wasn't the prettiest performance. O'Korn looked harried and uncomfortable, and rightfully so, as Michigan's pass protection was far from good. Even so, the pocket awareness that Speight seemed to have perfected in his season to date just wasn't there.

But, given the blanketing snows, expecting huge numbers would have been foolish. After all, it's not as if Ohio State did much better in poor conditions against Michigan State (and those were nothing compared to the conditions in Ann Arbor).

Michigan did what it had to do to win, a week after it didn't quite find the juice to flip an eventual one-point loss into a close win. On top of that, this isn't the Kevin Wilson Indiana teams of old -- these guys actually play defense. Not just "good for Indiana" defense, but good, period.

Sure, 7-for-16 for 59 yards and no touchdowns is not good, however you spin it. In the end, though, a win is a win.

The question is: can Michigan get by with a similar performance in Columbus this Saturday? Instinct responds with a resounding "no," although it's not as if Ohio State isn't without offensive issues of its own.

Both the Buckeyes and Wolverines have spent their seasons subconsciously fighting proxy wars against common opponents. The numbers are all there, ripe for dissection and analysis.

But for all of the advanced stats that have flowered into being in recent years, the biggest storylines are reductive. Michigan has beaten Ohio State three times this century (2000, 2003, 2011). For someone like me, who grew up in the '90s when the situation was different but I wasn't quite old enough to appreciate it, I haven't known much else. Even in 2011, Michigan barely eked by a bad, Luke Fickell-coached Buckeyes squad.

In this game, there are no tricks or fancy ideas. There are no easy ways. You could even say that, for the most part, there are no lucky bounces or fluke plays (certainly not of the Auburn-Alabama "kick six" variety).

The winning team, more often than not, is the better team; in the '90s, Michigan wasn't always the better team heading into the game, but they were the better team on that one day in November.

Without a doubt, Michigan's defense cannot afford to be thoroughly outplayed like it was last year in Ann Arbor, to the tune of 42 points. Unlike the 2006 matchup, when the Buckeyes scored 42 and Michigan fell just short with 39, this team isn't built to meet that challenge.

That will be especially true if O'Korn starts. Speight may be able to play, but maybe the doubt being cast about his status could just be a classic case of gamesmanship. At this point, who knows.

Certain things will have to happen for Michigan to win. Facing talented athletes like JT Barrett and Curtis Samuel, the tackling simply has to be better. And, when pass rushers get to Barrett, they have to bring him down. Of course, that's easier said than done -- after all, memories of Braxton Miller, Terrelle Pryor and Troy Smith are recent evidence of that. Those ghosts linger, have lingered, for many a year. A step too slow, a step misplaced, and the ghost has escaped, over and over again, living to haunt another year.

Michigan will have to bring those apparitions down, this time. This time, Michigan fans hope that Don Brown has the answers DJ Durkin, Greg Robinson and Ron English couldn't find.

On the bright side for Michigan, the Buckeyes have not seen a defense like Michigan's to date. Further still, the Ohio State offense has struggled against lesser teams, including against Northwestern and a Malik McDowell-less Michigan State.

But, as we all know, those sorts of things tend not to matter when it's time for The Game. Both teams, in theory, will be bringing their best, including previously unseen wrinkles and miscellaneous fancy machinations.

Like any rivalry, the big-time players will leave their mark, either as landmark moments in lore or as markers of what could have been. Last year, Barrett and Co. rolled over Michigan with ease. This time, Michigan will need, among others, its best player, Jabrill Peppers, to have his moment. His Woodson, his Howard, his Biakabutuka. Peppers can very easily shut down the whispers of "overrated" by playing his best game on Saturday. On defense, on offense, on special teams, Michigan will need Peppers to leave his mark.

Michigan has spent its season showing flashes, revealing little tricks here and there with their superstar from New Jersey. Through it all, fans have wondered if there are additional wrinkles in the bag of tricks, beyond what we've already seen, tricks that would ostensibly be deployed down the road on a Saturday afternoon in November.

Well, the wait is over. There is nothing left to save, nothing left to hide. On Saturday, everything will be tinged with finality.

It won't be No. 1 versus No. 2, but it'll be close enough. In reality, in the new playoff world, it will mean just as much as that November day in 2006, when everything hung in the balance.

All roads lead to this. As the opening kickoff rises into the sky, Michigan will have a chance to decide: Will it tackle the ghost?

Or, will the ghost slip through them yet again, incorporeal and unattainable?

For now, we wonder. On Saturday, that ghost will reappear, to haunt or ... to be defeated.

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Indiana

Little late linking this today, but my recap of the Indiana shootout--note to self: if I ever start an indie country band, call it "The Indiana Shootout"--went up at Maize n Brew this morning.

Overall, the tackling was a concern but I'm not sure the defensive issues in this one should be anything to seriously worry about the rest of the way. Indiana will continue to be a special case in this way as long as Kevin Wilson is in Bloomington, I'm afraid.

Offensively, Michigan destroyed a bad Indiana defense, but did it better than any of Indiana's previous opponents, so that's something if you're looking for some relativistic comfort.

In any case, the bye week is once again coming at a good time. Devin Gardner took some big hits on Saturday, and he'll have a chance to heal up before Michigan attempts to solve Michigan State's monstrous defense. That will be a tall order, but Al Borges and Co. will have an extra week to figure out a plan for that.

Michigan-Indiana: Halftime Numbers and Notes

Yeah, this one should have been a noon game. Back in the day (i.e. the early 2000s), this would have been a comfortable Michigan rout on ESPN Plus. This game might end up that way, but the Wolverines are up just 28-17 heading into the half.

• Michigan was nowhere near ready to play defense on IU's long touchdown score to Cody Latimer. In back-to-back weeks, Michigan's defense hasn't exactly responded too well to any sort of uptick in tempo. 

• Running from the shotgun on Michigan's first touchdown drive was a sight for sore eyes. The drive went 56 yards in 5 plays, with Toussaint rushing for half of those yards. 

• Before anyone extrapolates wildly, it should be noted that Indiana's defense is atrocious. 

• Jeremy Gallon took what was basically a bubble screen 70 yards, setting up Michigan's second score. Again, IU is very bad defensively, but Michigan is much more likely to find success when it spreads people out. 

• On a 1st & 10 late in the first, Gardner had all day to throw. Unfortunately, he threw it a half second too late, and Jeremy Jackson was not able to reel the ball in on the right sideline. 

• Derrick Green showed a nice burst on seven yard carry that closed out the first quarter. To start the second, he showed some nice feet, moving left and cutting niftily back to his right to pick up seven more. 

• On more than one occasion, Gardner didn't handle IU pressure too smoothly, especially the play in the second quarter when he was slow to get up. 

• IU's two scoring drives lasted just 1:03 and 1:21. 

• Yes, that should have been a holding call on A.J. Williams. You win some you lose some. 

• Jeremy Gallon's first half stats: 8 receptions, 170 yards, 1 TD. 

• Team stat comparison (via ESPN): 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 10/15/13

Somehow we're already halfway through October...time flies when you're having fun!:

• Indiana continues to work on the two-QB dynamic with Tre Roberson and Nate Sudfeld. 

• On the heels of a crushing loss at Camp Randall, Sippin' On Purple asks where the 4-2 (0-2) Wildcats stand. 

• The Illini look to bounce back after their loss in Lincoln; unfortunately for them, they'll have to do it against Wisconsin. 

• Kyle Bosch is the newest name to enter the 2013 line blender. 

• Like Michigan, Wisconsin hockey is off to a 2-0 start. Also like Michigan, the Badgers have some difficult upcoming tests on the road. 

• Speaking of hockey, this is yesterday's news but tickets for this year's Big Ten hockey tournament in Minneapolis this March are on sale. 

• Christian Hackenberg won CBSSports.com's "Rookie of the Week" distinction. 

• BHGP with a mid-season assessment of the Hawkeyes, who travel to Columbus this weekend. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 8/29/13

Fouad Egbaria

At 2:30 Chicago time today, we'll be just 48 hours away from Michigan football. Luckily, you won't have to wait until Saturday to watch some college football. Here are some links to hold you over until then:

• Games tonight, there are many. North Carolina heads to Columbia to face Michigan's last opponent, the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks (6:00 ET, ESPN). Poor Bryn Renner. The Tar Heels were a respectable 8-4 last season (no bowl game--it's easy to forget who has been disciplined by the even-handed, rational force of law that is the NCAA), but I don't imagine that they have a shot. This will probably be an ugly game, being the first one and all. As terrifying as Jadeveon Clowney and the rest of that defense are, scoring points could be a major problem for the Gamecocks. 
• Also, the other USC travels to Hawaii (11:00 ET, CBS Sports Network) if you'd like to stay up really late on a school night. 
• On the B1G front, Indiana and Minnesota get Indiana State and UNLV at home, respectively. Don't lose, eh?

• FAQ from Garnet and Black Attack on tonight's Battle of the Carolinas. 

• I've seen Schutt listed as both a starter and as a backup, but, either way, this is not good for the Buckeye front 7. In case you didn't click through, DT Tommy Schutt is out for 6-8 weeks. The Ohio State front 7 is going to be pretty green, albeit very talented, especially at defensive end. 
• Speaking of, here's some Spence/Washington fluff from NFL.com. 
• Myerberg talks Oregon. 

• Brian Kelly says Notre Dame will mix in some pistol this season on offense. Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try it.
• In case you missed it, college football fans will now get unlimited replays, which is nice. Basically, you'll now have more chances to convince yourself into thinking something was a bad call that probably wasn't, sending yourself into a tizzy of saying things like "WHAT" and "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME." Refs everywhere shake their heads and walk away like so: 

• Bill C. on why we love this nonsensical thing called "college football." 

Sentimental Education

If I can make it there/You know, I'm gonna make it just about anywhere

Youth is an inherent facet of the college game. It is rare to find a team with a starting lineup stocked with upperclassmen; when such teams are to be found, they are typically either a mid-major or not very good. 

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Michigan was busy dominating all comers in Manhattan and declaring themselves kings of Brooklyn for a night. In between passive-aggressive glances and cigarette drags, area hipsters spoke in hushed tones of Spike Albrecht and his underappreciated work "Four Minutes, Goodbye Appalachia." Those were simpler, rawer times, before all this corporatized, uptight Big Ten stuff. 

In a sense, that is what a nonconference schedule is: a formless sea of conflicting interpretations built on an untenable framework of nothing, by and against nobody you've ever heard of, not unlike an indie album. The Big Ten, on the other hand, is an ordered symphony, at times crashing, at times serene, but thematically consistent and often linear in form if not in plot. If not linear, then its general direction is typically clear: forward, like natural selection adapted to the hardwood. 

That's not to say that the former can't be nice; the non-conference schedule surely was just that. Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Michigan's cavalry of steely-eyed freshmen led Michigan to an unbeaten mark and, more importantly, the promise of something beyond what many of us --myself included-- had ever had the fortune of witnessing on the hardwood. 

Michigan has taken trips to Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana thus far (Northwestern too, I guess--#B1GCats!), all problematic places to play, and has come away with decidedly mixed results in a season that has otherwise been historic in every way. I don't mean to dismiss everything else to date, but wins against some of those teams aren't worth writing home about vis-a-vis any sort of Big Picture, which may not even exist in the world of college basketball in terms of results. In the span of 40 minutes in March, the Big Picture can become just another mundane piece in the colossal jigsaw puzzle that is your average college basketball season. 

Although I have realized over the past year or two that the losses don't really hit me like they used to, there was still a lingering bitterness Sunday. Perhaps it was the lofty No. 1 ranking, perhaps it was the opportunity to grab Michigan's biggest regular season win in some time, perhaps it was the chance to do so against a superb Indiana team, in that hall of mirrors in Bloomington no less, where every corner reveals a distorted and bizarre view of the very self you thought you knew before entering. 

It should be noted that the season promises to be a great one, and that the end is not near. Michigan will win many more games, and I think it is safe to assume that at least a few of those games will take place in some probably sparsely attended venues in March. 

Other than Michigan's occasional tendency to devolve into an NBA-style heroball game (which, to be honest, I'm not necessarily against despite its inefficiency), perhaps it was the mortality of two of Michigan's youth-belying freshmen, Glenn Robinson III and Nik Stauskas. Oddly, Mitch "CRUNK" McGary, he of the frenetic game and spontaneous shrug-inducing bursts of "Did I do that?" strength, has been the most consistent of the three insofar as his particular game is concerned. 

Again, this shouldn't be construed as me sounding the alarm, pushing the panic button, or whatever such phrase you may prefer. Rather, it's part of an overall narrative that is obvious but was somewhat buried by Michigan's pristine start. 

Like the divine right kings of old, it's hard to conceptualize your fallibility when you're strolling down Atlantic Avenue with a crown on your head and asphalt covered in rose petals in your wake. 

It's even harder to imagine when placed in the context of Michigan basketball as a whole. The moment has finally come, the resurgence, the return, and how could it be but linear and unstinting? Unfortunately, that is not and will not be the order of things, for college basketball, like football, subsists on chaos, pointed statistical variances and home crowds seemingly unleashed from the bowels of Hell. 

Robinson III, he of the No. 1 ORtg in the Big Ten, looked like just another athlete on Saturday. Of course, it's not exactly hard to understand why. Indiana is very good, Assembly Hall is a place so fearsome that you can momentarily forget your own name amid the din and, most importantly, GRIII is just a freshman. The high-flying 360 dunks would seem to defy the laws of space and time, but one cannot outjump youth. 

Similarly, Nik Stauskas (NJAS), he of the Big Ten's No. 6 ORtg, is even more prone to bouts of freshmanitis, given his perimeter-oriented game. After all, the rims do get smaller on the road, and I won't wait for scientific inquiry to prove this fact. On Saturday, our favorite Mississaugan went just 3/10 from the field and 1/5 from beyond the arc. That will happen. 

Even Trey Burke, the heart and soul through which this team draws its every breath, is a mere true sophomore. For all his brilliance, we would do well to remember that he is still very much learning what he can and cannot do, what he should and shouldn't do. 

With trips to Michigan State and Wisconsin still on the docket --in addition to home dates against Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana-- there is still room within the amorphous bubble that is college basketball to explore. College basketball is like writing; you don't always get it right, and it is often glaringly so when that is the case. 

On the bright side, it can be a self-correcting mechanism in this way. Unlike seasons gone by, it isn't as if Michigan failed at OSU and IU and didn't have the means to answer back, or, pre-Beilein, didn't know how to. In both games, Michigan rallied back and even had the chance to win despite stretches of frazzled play. Now, Michigan has the pieces to beat anyone, but the challengers are numerous and the divine right that seemed a mandate within the boundaries of the five boroughs has become far from unassailable, if it ever was that to begin with. 

Ohio State. Wisconsin. Michigan State. On a practical level, this upcoming stretch will help to determine Michigan's tournament seeding (Big Ten and Big Dance) and the level of assistance it might need to bring home another regular season conference title, preferably unshared. 

Thematically, there is much more at stake, for Michigan's freshmen and non-freshmen. The next three games will begin to reveal just how far-reaching this sentimental education can be, for the players and fans alike. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time

Over at Maize n Brew I was asked to write something about Minnesota football; here it is. If you missed my post last week on Indiana, here is that one as well. I never imagined that I would write approximately 4,500 total words about Indiana and Minnesota, but I did. I guess this is what happens when you are a college football fan and it is the month of May.

I highly suggest that all of you visit MnB as these preview weeks continue on into the summer. There's a lot of good work being done over there and I recommend all of it.

On an unrelated note, here is this week's, as promised, Michigan-centric Shutdown Fullback episode. WATCH IT:

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 8/9

The Good: Ondre Pipkins, ManBearPig 4* DT, joins the already distinguished 2012 class. Pipkins is commitment #22 for the Wolverines, and fills a position of dire need. After Will Campbell--far from a proven commodity even as a junior--there's not a whole lot. Granted, position switches will happen, and we'll see a few guys move inside as they put on weight. In any case, this is just another example of Hoke's unbelievable recruiting thus far. Beating out Alabama, Florida, OSU, etc. for a recruit is always cause for celebration.

The Bad: Coach Hoke has finally meted out the long-expected punishment in the Darryl Stonum ND-UofM Discipline Litmus Test of 2011: essentially, Hoke has put Stonum on timeout for the 2011 season. Stonum will sit in the corner this season to think about what he's done and, ostensibly, will be back next season. Insert minor grumblings along the lines of "if he was a third-string tight end he would've been gone faster than you can say POWER PLAY" but this is the way things are. Regardless, this is a point for Hoke vis a vis Brian Kelly.

In more bad news, P Will Hagerup (who missed last season's OSU game) will also miss the first four games of 2011. This is a huge blow, as it not only puts Hagerup on even thinner ice (re: his career at Michigan) but it really puts the pressure on his replacement, freshman PK Matt Wile. Hagerup was about as highly-touted as a punter can be coming out of high school, and he performed admirably in 2010. This hopefully won't matter against Western and Eastern, but will certainly be a factor against the Irish, and could even contribute to an upset bid by the Aztecs if we aren't careful. The best way to let an inferior team in a game is to give them field position, and if Wile isn't the answer then we are in trouble.

In slightly less bad news, diminutive slot ninja Terrence Robinson will also miss the opener. While we were all enamored with the"dream shake" from his high school highlight reel, he's a guy that has two career catches, and couldn't even see the field in RR's spread. Michigan will be fine in the wideout department this season, even without Stonum, so this is pretty minor.

The Ugly: Jerel Worthy's puzzling distaste for Mizzou football:

(HT: Dr. Saturday)

The best part of the whole thing isn't even the tattoo itself, but Coach Dantonio's response to it (per Worthy): "Cool tattoo." In Dantonio-speak, "cool tattoo" is equivalent to "THAT IS AMAZING MAN SERIOUSLY I  AM GENUINELY ENTHUSED" for normal human beings with emotions and a soul and whatnot. This creation is the physical embodiment of DERP. In fact, Worthy could have just tattooed DERP across his bicep and the message would have come through just the same.

Wolverine Historian: 

Announcers at the beginning mentioning Bo's Wolverines dropping 70 on Illinois the week before...Bo, making it cool to drop obscene amounts of points on the Illini way before RR made it fashionable.

More reasons to like this team:

Kevin Koger wears awesome hats and watches Dragon Ball Z (!). Awesome. Hopefully Koger doesn't take as long to develop to his full potential this season as the average DBZ story arc.



Ruffin McNeill...no longer fat, sweaty. Michigan signs 5-year extension with CBS radio. Miami football keepin' kosher. 11W covers Day 1 of fall camp in Columbus. The Wolverine Blog asks some questions, and answers them. BHGP not exactly sold on Iowa's offensive line situation. Hammer & Rails takes a look at the Hoosiers...prediction? "This has to be a win for us." Joe Pa sustains some injuries in practice...apparently wanted to just shake it off and go home but the doctors forced him to let them take a look at him. Does this mean Joe Pa goes back upstairs to the booth?