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Michigan football prepares for top 10 test with undefeated Indiana on tap

Online Niel November 9, 2024

Ann Arbor — In December, after taking over as the head coach at Indiana, Curt Cignetti boldly went where no Hoosiers football coach had gone before.

Cignetti, speaking to fans at Assembly Hall, played to his audience by first mentioning in-state rival Indiana. Then he took another step.

“Purdue sucks,” Cignetti yelled. “But so is Michigan and Ohio State.”

The clip spread wildly and since then, the 63-year-old coach has toned it down. He doesn’t need to talk because his team — rebuilt with experienced players from the transfer portal, including Ohio University quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who started 41 games in his college career — has been on a tear this season.

The undefeated Hoosiers, 9-0 for the first time in program history, are ranked No. 8 first college football playoff poll and hosts defending national champion Michigan on Saturday. Indiana has beaten Michigan twice since 1987 and is looking for its first win over the Wolverines since the 2020 game in Bloomington, 38-21. Michigan, ranked No. 2 at the time, won last year’s meeting, 52-7.

“It wasn’t much of a game between the two teams last year,” Cignetti told reporters this week. “(Michigan has) a lot of good players, strong defense, really good special teams. They run the ball well. Good tight end, running backs. The offensive line is working well. He settled on a defender. He can spin it. And the receivers are more than capable. So we’ll have to have a great week of preparation and do everything we can to have a chance.”

Michigan comes out a 38-17 loss to no. 1 Oregon last week. The Wolverines are 1-3 against ranked teams this season and enter the Indiana game as double-digit underdogs. And for good reason. The Hoosiers have the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense (46.6 ppg) and are No. 3 in total defense (261 yards) and No. 1 in rushing defense (72.6 yards). They also lead the Big Ten in fewest turnovers (six) and are second in third-down offense (50.5%), a mark that also ranks seventh nationally .

Conversely, the Wolverines’ defense ranks 108th on third down (43.9%). Last week, Oregon was 10-for-15 on third down against Michigan, which was down two starting cornerbacks. Jyaire Hill is expected to return for Saturday’s game, but it’s unclear when Will Johnson will return from injury. Indiana has been a consistent threat on third down, but in one 47-10 win at Michigan State The Hoosiers were 2-for-10 last week.

“You play who you got, and it was a very good (Oregon) team that was ranked the same as IU is at No. 3,” Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “There’s some space plays that we just missed and we’ve got to find some different ways to affect the quarterback, but that’s hard to do when you’re down men and everything. This will be a challenge for us this week. And then you play an offense that has 13 turnovers. I think Oregon quarterback (Dillon Gabriel), that was his 58th career start. I think with Rourke, it’s his 42nd or 43rd career start, so you’ve got experienced guys there pulling the trigger. It will be a tough challenge for us.”

Since losing to IllinoisThe Wolverines (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) have embraced the idea of trying to spoil other teams’ seasons. Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, projected to be a high pick in the NFL draft, said this week that he isn’t thinking about hanging it up this season, even though so many of the team’s goals are out of reach.

“It’s just another opportunity to go out there and put great things on the field,” Grant said of playing at Indiana and finishing the season. “Coach (Sherrone Moore) told us, ‘We know our record, we know them. Just an opportunity to impact our season, but also to impact their season.’ There’s a lot more on the line.”

Indiana fell behind for the first time of the season last week at Michigan State, but rallied from a 10-0 deficit with 47 unanswered points. What Cignetti did this season was a masterclass in how to use the portal to build quickly and be successful. He was 11-1 at James Madison last season and arrived at Indiana determined to make an immediate impact. To do this, take experienced transfers. Cignetti signed 27 transfers, including 21 with at least three years of college experience and 13 who earned all-conference honors.

“He’s done an incredible job with his team,” Moore, in his first season as Michigan’s head coach, said Monday. “They play disciplined, they play fast, they play physical. Offensively, they do a really good job of spreading you out, making things happen, keeping things simple for their players and making it difficult for your defense. And defensively, they play great team defense and try to make you make mistakes.”

While Indiana has had success at third, Michigan has had its share of struggles. Last week in the first half against Oregon, the Wolverines were 1-for-6 in most third-and-long situations and finished the game 4-for-12. They stressed the importance of starting faster this week, and that starts with being efficient on first and second downs.

“Playing better on first down makes everything better, right?” tight ends coach Steve Casula said this week. “If you want to look at the best offenses in the country, they’re probably as good or as good as anybody. We have to do better on first and second down. We have to put ourselves in better circumstances to be able to make the third down shorter or not face a third down. This is an area we are very focused on. We didn’t perform to our standard or level in our last game in that regard and despite that we have to improve.”

A tough task against this Indiana team.

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