JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Editor
B
LOOMINGTON — Trap
game is a term that
gets tossed around a lot
in college football. In a sport
where one or two losses define
the season for the upper echelon
of teams, it can be detrimental
to overlook certain opponents
for more tantalizing matchups
that loom beyond.
It’s
difficult
to
pinpoint
exactly what defines a matchup
as a trap game. But for the No.
4 Michigan football team, a
bout with a middling Indiana
squad — sandwiched between
its resounding win at Kinnick
stadium and its upcoming top-
10
showdown
against
Penn
State — had the chance to fit
that billing.
The Wolverines (6-0 overall,
3-0 Big Ten) struggled in the
first half, but ultimately used
a strong final 30 minutes to
escape a sound effort from the
Hoosiers (3-3, 1-2) with a win,
31-10.
“We felt like we could move
the ball on them the whole
game, especially the first half,
but it just wasn’t clicking,”
sophomore
quarterback
J.J.
McCarthy said. “We weren’t in
a rhythm. And once we got into
a rhythm in the second half, it
was over.”
On
the
opening
drive,
Michigan
appeared
poised
to keep the trap door sealed
shut, marching right down for
a touchdown punctuated by a
50-yard
zigzagging
scamper
from junior running back Blake
Corum.
But as trap games go, it was
never going to remain that
simple.
Adversity first struck off the
field, when Michigan running
backs coach Mike Hart suffered
a seizure on the sidelines and
had to be taken to the hospital.
Fortunately,
at
halftime
Hart was reported to be in
good spirits; after the game,
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
confirmed that Hart is stable.
On the field, the Wolverines
looked rattled — and costly
penalties
and
a
stagnating
offense kept the Hoosiers afloat.
Indiana began to take the fight
to Michigan, exploiting its soft
secondary with outside throws
and tying the game up at 10
early in the second quarter.
The remainder of the first
half turned ugly, punctuated
by an exchange of blocked field
goals.
The Wolverines, a team that
has preached a blue collar work
ethic and operated with
machine-like efficiency
all year, appeared to
have a few screws
loose.
Fitting
the
overall
discombobulated
nature of the half,
the
usually
reliable
Corum was stuffed for
a turnover on downs on
fourth-and-inches in Indiana
territory with less than a
minute remaining.
Michigan jogged off the field
still tied, a situation that seemed
improbable after a dominant
opening drive. But inside the
locker room, there was no panic
about the sluggish start.
“There wasn’t (any) ‘deer in
the headlights’ or concern,”
graduate
wide
receiver
Ronnie Bell said. “It was just
like, ‘Alright, this is what’s
happened. This is what we gotta
do.’ And I feel like the offense
did a good job of just attacking
it like that.”
Whether the second half
would tell a similarly chagrined
SPORTSWEDNESDAY
Regardless of what elements
define a trap game, getting a
win is ultimately what
matters most.
tale was immediately put to
the test: The Hoosiers pinned
the Wolverines on their own
2-yard-line to open the second
half.
Then, the resolve Michigan
had hopelessly searched for
in the first half finally shined
through. McCarthy dissected
the Indiana defense, dotting the
ball up the field and culminating
an 11-play, 98-yard drive with
a touchdown to junior wide
receiver Cornelius Johnson.
“That was probably the
most exciting drive of the
game,” Bell said. “We
communicated
that this was a
chance to
make
a
statement.
We knew we
could
move
the
ball, we knew we could
score. And I think everybody
answered the bell just right. We
drove right down the field and
scored.”
The offense answered the
bell a couple more times in the
second half, stringing together
two more touchdown drives.
With the Hoosiers successfully
plugging up the run, McCarthy
flaunted his abilities through
the air — finishing 28-36 for 304
yards and three touchdowns.
But a stellar passing day
didn’t
remove
all
concern
about the Wolverines’ offense.
As the game ebbed into the
fourth quarter, they only clung
to a meager seven-point lead.
Indiana didn’t look threatening,
MICHIGAN 31 | INDIANA 10
MICHIGAN 31 | INDIANA 10
LATE
BLOOM
BLOOMER
Michigan struggles early, ultimately pulls away against Indiana
but Michigan’s own ineptitude
—
including
a
McCarthy
interception,
offensive
penalties and uninspiring play
calling — kept the chances for
an upset in play.
It wasn’t until senior tight
end Luke Schoonmaker found
the end zone with under 10
minutes remaining to extend
the lead to 14 that all doubt
clouding the game could be
removed.
Much of the success was
attributed
to
the
defense,
which played arguably its most
complete half of the season.
The unit displayed a suffocating
fortitude, pitching a shutout
and piling up four sacks.
“In the first half they hit
a couple of big plays,” junior
edge
rusher
Jaylen
Harrell
said. “We just changed a couple
things, made some halftime
adjustments, listened to our
coaches and did what we had to
do in the second half.”
The Wolverines looked out of
sorts much of the day, making
routine plays look difficult and
letting a mediocre opponent
hang around. But in the second
half, Michigan toughened up
and pulled out a win.
And
regardless
of what elements
define
a
trap
game, getting a
win is ultimately
what
matters
most.
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