B
Time for a change
The 19th-ranked Wolverines
already know what they have
in John O’Korn. It’s time for
them to find out the same
thing about Brandon Peters.
» Page 4B
The blueprint
In speaking to the media
Monday, John O’Korn laid
out what Michigan needs to
do to upset No. 2 Penn State.
» SportsMonday Column
Page 2B
BLOOMINGTON — The 10
yards could have made all the
difference.
With just over a minute
left to play, the Wolverines
were clinging to a 20-17 lead
when freshman Brad Robbins
launched a 45-yard punt. But
Michigan was called for a
holding penalty, moving the ball
up to Indiana’s 30-yard line.
The Hoosiers pieced together
three receptions and left two
seconds on the clock. Though
Michigan tried to ice him,
kicker Griffin Oakes nailed a
46-yard field goal to send the
game to overtime.
Behind the efforts of junior
running back Karan Higdon
and the Wolverines’ defense,
the No. 17 Michigan football
team (2-1 Big Ten, 5-1 overall)
escaped the overtime period
with
a
27-20
victory
over
Indiana (0-3, 3-3).
But throughout the day, there
was good reason to be worried.
Michigan may not have turned
the ball over, but the Wolverines
certainly held themselves back.
They
were
called
for
a
season-high
16
penalties,
totaling 141 yards. The most
costly of which came at the end
of the second half. It could have
cost Michigan the game, too.
That’s where Higdon and
the
defense
came
in.
The
Wolverines received the ball
first and took all of one play
to find the end zone. Though
Higdon
looked
stuffed,
he
managed to bounce around to
the outside and run 25 yards for
the touchdown.
“I’m going to be honest, I
went the wrong way on that
play,” said fifth-year senior
center
Patrick
Kugler.
“I
messed up. (But) when you have
a back like Karan, he’s going to
make you right sometimes.”
Indiana then had a chance to
answer back, and it almost did.
The Hoosiers made it all the
way to the one-yard line, but
Michigan’s defense wouldn’t let
them go any farther.
On four consecutive plays,
the
Wolverines
racked
up
two tackles-for-loss and an
incompletion before sealing the
deal with an interception from
junior safety Tyree Kinnel.
“We (were) going to have to
dig down deep to do it,” said
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
“The goal-line stand was great,
an opportunity for us to keep
them out of the end zone and
win the ballgame.”
Added fifth-year senior John
O’Korn: “We trust our defense.
They continue to get the job
done. … There’s never any doubt
about that in any of our minds.”
Though it took until overtime
to finally finish off Indiana,
Higdon thought he had already
staked Michigan to a decisive
lead in the fourth quarter.
At the start of the second
half, the Hoosiers had forced a
three-and-out and then drove
64 yards for a touchdown to cut
the Wolverines’ lead to 13-10.
But with 10 minutes left to play,
Higdon broke through a gaping
hole in the middle for a 59-yard
touchdown.
At that moment, Michigan
thought it could finally breathe
a sigh of relief. It couldn’t.
With
four
minutes
left,
Indiana returned a punt 53
yards
to
the
Wolverines’
20-yard
line.
Quarterback
Peyton Ramsey threw an eight-
yard touchdown pass to bring
the
Hoosiers
within
three
again.
After an onside kick went
Michigan’s way, it went three-
and-out and was forced to punt.
The ensuing penalty could have
been devastating.
And there were plenty of
penalties that could have cost
the Wolverines on Saturday.
Out of 16 total, 11 — amounting
to 98 yards — came in the first
half alone.
Michigan could have had a
touchdown in the first quarter,
after fifth-year senior tackle
Maurice
Hurst
blocked
a
51-yard field goal attempt and
sophomore cornerback Lavert
Hill returned it 35 yards to the
Hoosiers’ 27-yard line.
But the Wolverines wasted
their
gifted
field
position.
Higdon rushed for a 10-yard
gain, but it was negated by a
holding penalty. Immediately
afterward, the offensive line
was called for a false start.
Suddenly, Michigan was backed
up to Indiana’s 42-yard line.
Though Higdon then rushed
for 22 yards on consecutive
carries, the Wolverines had to
settle for a 38-yard field goal
on 4th-and-3 from redshirt
freshman kicker Quinn Nordin
— his second of the game —
after Michigan’s offense stalled
in the red zone.
But the most costly penalty of
the first half went against the
Hoosiers. As fifth-year senior
quarterback
John
O’Korn
scrambled on 1st-and-10 near
the beginning of the second
quarter,
Indiana
linebacker
Tegray
Scales
was
flagged
for a late hit. The penalty
moved the Wolverines to the
Hoosiers’
28-yard
line
and
Higdon took care of the rest —
rushing 16 yards up the middle
before completing a 12-yard
touchdown run to the outside
to put Michigan up 13-0.
Still, 16 penalties are usually
a recipe for disaster. For much
of the game, it looked like the
Wolverines were heading right
toward it.
“Those are some of the
things we have to grow (from)
and improve on,” Harbaugh
said. “Just keep coaching, just
keep talking about it, just keep
learning from it.
“… It’s a process. We gotta
become
a
more
disciplined
football team.”
Though Michigan managed
to escape relatively unscathed
Saturday, with a contest against
No. 3 Penn State just a week
away, the Wolverines will need
to clean up their mistakes in a
hurry.
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | October 18, 2017
Despite penalties, Wolverines win in OT
WEDNESDAY
Michigan 27, Indiana 20 (OT)
OT
RUN
N
HE
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor