8A — Friday, November 13, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

RITA MORRIS/Daily

Fifth-year senior Jake Rudock is coming off his best game of the season.

FOOTBALL
Breakdown: ‘M’ vs. Indiana

By MAX BULTMAN

Daily Sports Editor

For most of its season, the 

Indiana football team has had to 
settle for “close.”

Already 
this 
season, 
the 

Hoosiers 
(0-5 
Big 
Ten, 
4-5 

overall) have lost to then-No. 1 
Ohio State by seven points and 
then-No. 9 Iowa by eight points. 
They trailed then-No. 7 Michigan 
State by just five with five minutes 
remaining, but couldn’t keep it 
together, losing by 26. They were 
in every one of those games. They 
just couldn’t finish.

So when No. 14 Michigan goes 

to Bloomington on Saturday, the 
Wolverines will be taking on a 
team that’s better than its record 
suggests.

Here’s how the Daily breaks 

down the upcoming matchup.

Michigan pass offense vs. 

Indiana pass defense

Fifth-year senior quarterback 

Jake Rudock isn’t the nation’s 
most exciting signal-caller, but 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh 
said Rudock has stepped his 
game up lately, even saying he has 
resembled an NFL quarterback 
this week.

Rudock had a career-high 337 

yards against Rutgers, throwing 
for two touchdowns and running 
for one in his best game of the 
season. Indiana has given up the 
second-most passing yards per 
game in the nation the season, 
ahead of only Kansas.

Junior tight end Jake Butt 

had a big game last week for 
Michigan, racking up 102 yards 
on four catches, and is a threat 
to replicate those numbers any 
given week in Harbaugh’s offense. 
Outside of Butt, redshirt junior 
wide receivers Amara Darboh and 
Jehu Chesson have developed into 
reliable targets on any down. Add 
in a screen game that continues 
to pay big dividends, and the 
Wolverines have many weapons 

at their disposal.

Edge: Michigan

Michigan rush offense vs. 

Indiana rush defense

On 
the 
surface, 
Indiana’s 

48th-ranked rush defense doesn’t 
look too bad. But that average is 
buoyed by games against Florida 
International, Western Kentucky 
and Wake Forest. Outside of those 
games, the Hoosiers have been 
susceptible to the ground game.

Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott 

rushed for 274 yards and three 
touchdowns 
against 
Indiana. 

Rutgers’ Robert Martin ran for 
124 yards and three touchdowns. 
And Southern Illinois gained 248 
yards rushing as a team.

The Hoosiers are giving up 161 

yards and two touchdowns on 
the ground to ranked teams this 
season, which could play well for a 
Michigan team that likes to pound 
the football and has the weapons 
to do so.

Redshirt 
junior 
running 

backs De’Veon Smith and Drake 
Johnson provide a speed/power 
combo that, if both are healthy, 
can keep opposing defenses off 
balance.

Unless Indiana can play its 

best defensive game of the year, 
Michigan should be able to do 
what it wants on offense, and that 
starts with the running game.

Edge: Michigan

Indiana 
pass 
offense 
vs. 

Michigan pass defense

Though 
Michigan’s 
pass 

defense is giving up the third-
fewest yards per game in the 
nation, it has been vulnerable 
against great quarterbacks this 
season. Michigan State’s Connor 
Cook and Minnesota’s Mitch 
Leidner all threw for big yards 
against the Wolverines, and both 
would have beaten them had the 
Golden Gophers not been stopped 

on a last-second goal-line stand.

With that in mind, Michigan 

will 
need 
to 
limit 
Indiana 

quarterback Nate Sudfeld to have 
success on Saturday.

Sudfeld has thrown for 2,229 

yards through nine games, and 
wide receiver Ricky Jones has 
totaled 708 receiving yards. That 
means junior cornerback Jourdan 
Lewis will likely be tasked with 
covering Jones, fresh off a week in 
which Lewis broke the Michigan 
single-season record for pass 
breakups.

Lewis has been burned in only 

one game this season — when the 
Spartans’ Aaron Burbridge caught 
nine passes for 132 yards — and 
even then, he made his impact felt, 
breaking up six passes.

Edge: Michigan

Indiana rush offense vs. 

Michigan rush defense

If running back Jordan Howard 

can get going, the Hoosiers offense 
becomes 
quite 
intimidating. 

Indiana plays the fastest tempo 
Michigan will face all year, and 
if the Hoosiers can combine their 
tempo with a productive run 
game, the Wolverines could get 
worn out.

Howard has been steady in 

nearly every game this season 
except against Ohio State, when 
he was held to 34 yards on 14 
carries, 
and 
Michigan 
State, 

when he gained 78 yards on 11 
touches. He has gained over 140 
yards every other time out, but his 
subpar showings against two rush 
defenses on Michigan’s level do 
not bode well for him going into 
Saturday.

Keeping Howard in check 

will be a concern all game for 
the Wolverines, and it will only 
be tougher if redshirt junior 
defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow 
can’t play. Glasgow’s status is 
uncertain after being in a sling 
this week, and if he can’t go, 
Michigan’s depth at the position 

could become a problem.

Still, the Wolverines have the 

nation’s No. 3 rush defense, and 
they should be plenty capable 
of staying tough, even without 
Glasgow.

Edge: Michigan

Special teams

Behind new special teams 

coach John Baxter, Michigan 
has turned its special teams into 
one of the nation’s best units. 
Chesson has already returned 
one kick for a touchdown, and 
redshirt freshman safety Jabrill 
Peppers has been close on 
numerous punts and kicks. It 
feels like the Wolverines could 
break a big play on special teams 
at any time.

Michigan 
and 
Indiana’s 

punting units are separated by just 
0.1 yards per punt, but Indiana’s 
Griffin Oakes gives the Hoosiers 
a slight edge in the kicking game, 
hitting 12 of 14 on the season.

Still, Michigan is ranked first 

in the country in special teams 
efficiency, and Indiana is 79th. 
That should tell you all you need 
to know.

Edge: Michigan

Intangibles

The Hoosiers are talented 

enough to knock off any team in 
the conference, and the fact that 
they’ve fallen short so many times 
could boost their motivation 
against 
their 
final 
ranked 

opponent this season.

Harbaugh 
has 
had 
the 

Wolverines prepared for every 
game so far this season, but if 
Indiana can finally put it all 
together, the Hoosiers could be a 
big problem.

Edge: Indiana

Prediction: 
Michigan 
34, 

Indiana 20

Indiana trip opens 
final stretch of year

By MAX COHEN

Managing Sports Editor

The doldrums of the college 

football season are a thing of the 
past. The final three weeks of 
the schedule typically represent 
a time of chaos, rankings turned 
upside down and upsets left and 
right.

The 
No. 

14 
Michigan 

football 
team, 

as 
evidenced 

by last-second 
finishes against 
Michigan State 
and Minnesota, 
has 
already 

endured 
its 

share of drama 
this 
season. 

Now, 
with 

two 
games 

remaining 
before 
that 

big 
one 
on 

Thanksgiving 
weekend, 
the 

Wolverines will be tasked with 
staying on par for the course.

First up for Michigan is Indiana 

(0-5 Big Ten, 4-5 overall). The 
Hoosiers, despite their lackluster 
conference 
record, 
have 

presented a challenge to some 
of their most difficult Big Ten 
opponents this season. Indiana 
took No. 3 Ohio State down to the 
wire, falling by just seven points. 
The Hoosiers also hung with No. 
13 Michigan State well into the 
second half last month before the 
Spartans turned the game into a 
blowout late in the fourth quarter.

Indiana is largely a threat to the 

Wolverines because of its offense. 
The Hoosiers have accumulated 
the second-most yards and fifth-
most points of any team in the Big 
Ten this season, hardly statistics 
for a cellar dweller. The Hoosiers 
have scored fewer than 26 points 
on only one occasion this season, 
when Penn State limited them to 
just seven on Oct. 10.

Though Michigan coach Jim 

Harbaugh said Monday that he 
would make sure his team was 
aware of the larger implications 
of the final three games of the 

season, his players feel as though 
Indiana is enough of a challenge 
to keep them from worrying 
about conference championships 
and the slim possibility of a 
playoff berth just yet.

“Everything boils down to this 

game,” said redshirt sophomore 
defensive tackle Maurice Hurst 
on Tuesday. “We can’t focus on 
what’s up next, especially when 
we’re playing a team like Indiana 
that’s scored on everybody.”

The 
Hoosiers’ 
defense, 

however, hasn’t lived up to its end 
of the bargain. The unit is last 
in the Big Ten in points (37) and 
yards (504) allowed per game.

Indiana’s 
porous 
defense 

will give Michigan’s offense the 
opportunity to build off of its 
performance 
against 
Rutgers 

in which it compiled 487 yards. 
Fifth-year 
senior 
quarterback 

Jake Rudock played his best game 
of the season, completing 18 of his 
25 passes for 337 yards and two 
touchdowns.

Rudock’s performance inspired 

high praise from Harbaugh.

“He even looked like an NFL-

type quarterback,” Harbaugh said 
Monday. “You know, somebody 
who would have a future playing 
in that league.”

This is a welcome development 

for the Wolverines, particularly 
after Rudock struggled from 
bouts with turnovers early in 
the season. A second straight 
good 
performance 
against 

Indiana would inspire further 
confidence as Michigan heads 
into the home stretch.

A win against the Hoosiers 

would keep the Wolverines alive 
in the Big Ten race. Then comes 
another road game at Penn State, 
a place where Michigan has had 
some trouble in recent memory. 
And then, if things hold to form and 
the Buckeyes defeat the Spartans 
next weekend, the Wolverines 
will play their chief rival for the 
division title on Nov. 28.

But things rarely tend to work 

out as planned toward the end 
of the college football season. 
Michigan will look to take care of 
its part Saturday.

Michigan 
at Indiana

Matchup: 
Indiana 4-5; 
Michigan 7-2

When: 
Saturday 
3:30 P.M.

Where: 
Memorial 
Stadium

TV/Radio: 
ABC

What to Watch For Saturday

‘M’ prepares to face 
Indiana’s up-tempo 

offense in fourth 
road game of 2015

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

The home stretch of the season 

has arrived, and the Michigan 
football 
team’s 
goals 
are 

suddenly within reach. The Nov. 
28 rivalry game against Ohio 
State looms larger than ever, but 
first the Wolverines (4-1 Big Ten, 
7-2 overall) must take care of 
business on the road.

They play at Indiana (0-5, 4-5) 

on Saturday and at Penn State 
next weekend. The first test in 
Bloomington could be tricky, 
considering the Hoosiers have 
the offense to pile up points 
against anybody, even on a five-
game losing streak.

Indiana has been on the brink 

of an upset multiple times this 
season, but historically, upsets 
have not come against Michigan 
for the Hoosiers. The Wolverines 
own the all-time series, 54-9, 
and have won 17 straight dating 
back to 1988. Even during their 
lean years in 2009 and 2010, they 
escaped with 36-33 and 42-35 
wins, respectively.

But once again, a victory on 

the road is no sure bet. With a few 
unknowns remaining, there will 
be plenty to watch for Saturday. 
Here are a few highlights.

1. Tempo, tempo, tempo.

Indiana 
may 
not 
be 
the 

toughest test Michigan’s defense 
will face this season, but it will be 
unique. The Hoosiers’ no-huddle 
attack runs 2.73 plays per minute, 
ranking 17th in the nation. The 
Wolverines have not seen an 
up-tempo offense since their 
first two games against Utah and 
Oregon State.

To 
make 
matters 
more 

complicated, 
redshirt 
junior 

defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow 
left last Saturday’s game with 
a shoulder injury and had his 

arm in a sling this week. If he 
can’t play Saturday, redshirt 
sophomore Maurice Hurst is 
the only nose tackle left on the 
depth chart. The Wolverines 
rotate often on the defensive 
line, so that could mean a bigger 
workload for redshirt juniors 
Matt Godin, Chris Wormley or 
Willie Henry.

On offense, Indiana has enough 

weapons to spread the field and 
test Michigan’s defense. Nate 
Sudfeld, a third-year starter at 
quarterback, is healthy and has 
averaged 278.6 yards in eight 
games. Running back Jordan 
Howard, who missed two games 
earlier in the season, has rushed 
for 961 yards at 6.1 yards per carry.

No 
team 
will 
run 
the 

Wolverines’ stout defense off the 
field, but the Hoosiers could at 
least make things interesting.

2. How does Michigan look on 

the road?

The Wolverines’ results away 

from home have run the gamut. 
They opened the season with 
a sluggish, three-turnover loss 
at Utah. They dominated an 
outmatched 
Maryland 
team 

four weeks later, 28-0. And they 
escaped with a hard-fought 29-26 

win over Minnesota two weeks 
ago in the most tightly contested 
of the three.

The 
matchup 
with 
Ohio 

State on Nov. 28 only matters if 
Michigan can remain unscathed 
until then. Though Bloomington 
doesn’t fit on the same level as 
the top schools in the Big Ten 
when it comes to hostile road 
environments, the Wolverines 
must be wary. And they must 
make another trip to Penn State 
next week.

The Hoosiers have lost five in 

a row, but they have been within 
one possession of a top-10 team in 
two of them.

3. Where on the field is Jabrill 

Peppers?

The 
hype 
surrounding 

Michigan’s redshirt freshman 
safety has only increased as the 
season has gone on and Peppers 
has played more roles. In the 
past three games, he has made 
an impact in all three phases, 
and he now ranks third on the 
team with 470 all-purpose yards 
despite spending most of his time 
on defense.

Last week, the coaches rolled 

back Peppers’ workload for the 
first time this season, putting 

junior cornerback Jourdan Lewis 
on the kick return team in his 
place. He also sustained a thigh 
contusion last Friday on a collision 
in practice. Lately, Peppers’ snap 
count has risen, and against 
Indiana’s up-tempo offense, that 
might be tough to sustain. How 
much rest the Wolverines give 
him remains to be seen.

4. Can Jake Rudock keep 

making strides?

The 
fifth-year 
senior 

quarterback’s 
teammates 

and coaches have been vocal 
all 
season 
about 
Rudock’s 

improvement, but the praise was 
louder than ever after Rudock’s 
career-high 337 passing yards 
against Rutgers last week.

Michigan’s defense has played 

the biggest role in the team’s 
success this season, but Rudock 
will be counted on most during 
the final three games. If Saturday 
turns into a shootout, he may 
have to air the ball out. Indiana’s 
pass defense ranks 126th in the 
country and has allowed an 
average of 339 yards over the past 
three games. If Rudock carries 
over last week’s success into this 
week’s game, the Wolverines will 
be tough to beat.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow is questionable for Saturday’s game with an injured shoulder.

