Indiana heads to Ann Arbor on Saturday with a chance to stop a slide before it starts to look bigger. Coming off a loss, the No. 6 Hoosiers will try to avoid the first two-game losing streak of the Curt Cignetti era when they face Michigan at Michigan Stadium, where IU has not won since 1967.
Kickoff is set for noon ET on FOX, and the matchup carries a familiar burden for Indiana. The Hoosiers are 11-62 all-time against Michigan, though they did grab the last meeting, a 20-15 win in 2024. A victory Saturday would also give IU back-to-back wins over the Wolverines for the first time since 1958-59 and pull the series to .500 over the last six meetings.
Michigan enters at 4-2 after beating Penn State 21-18 at home on Saturday, and this weekend will be the Wolverines’ seventh home game in eight tries. Their wins have come against Western Michigan, Oklahoma, UTEP and Penn State, while their losses came at Minnesota and against Iowa.
The Wolverines are under first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, who is 181-90 in 23 years as a head coach. The 66-year-old made his first coaching stop outside the West when he came to Michigan this year. A BYU graduate, he had previously spent all of his time coaching in Utah and Idaho, including 22 seasons as Utah’s head coach.
Whittingham brought first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck with him from Utah, but the offense has not clicked. Michigan is averaging 22.7 points per game, which ranks 105th nationally. PFF has the Wolverines at No. 52 on offense and No. 7 on defense.
Defense has been the steadier side of the ball. Jay Hill, Michigan’s defensive coordinator, rejoined Whittingham in 2026 after three years leading BYU’s defense and 13 seasons as an assistant under Whittingham. The Wolverines are giving up only 16.2 points per game, 21st in the country.
Quarterback play has been a big part of the offensive uncertainty, and Whittingham made a change in the Penn State game. Second-year Bryce Underwood, who has completed 58.1 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and six interceptions, was benched for first-year Tommy Carr.
Carr, the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr and brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, has appeared in two games and completed 7 of 9 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. He has also rushed six times for 54 yards.
Against Penn State, Carr went 5 of 7 for 47 yards after entering in the second half, and Michigan leaned on the run game to finish the job. The Wolverines piled up 225 rushing yards and three touchdowns, even though they still rank just 84th nationally in rushing offense at 148 yards per game.
Oddsmakers and computer models are leaning Indiana’s way. As of Monday morning, the Hoosiers were listed as about a 7-point favorite.
ESPN’s FPI gives IU an 82.2% chance to win, with Indiana ranked No. 5 and Michigan No. 32 in the model. ESPN’s SP+ projects a 26-18 Hoosiers victory and gives Indiana a 69% chance to come out on top.
Weather shouldn’t be much of a factor early, with the forecast calling for sunshine, light wind, a high of 67 and a low of 40. That could change later in the week, so it’s worth checking again closer to kickoff.
In Other News...
Indiana's Offensive Usage Just Created A Bigger Debate After Ohio State
Even in a 19-15 loss to Ohio State that left Indiana at 6-1, the bigger conversation is not just what the offense did, but how the snaps were distributed. The Hoosiers leaned on a mix of personnel that produced a few clear bright spots, from quarterback Josh Hoovers efficient touchdown-to-interception profile to the way wide receiver Charlie Becker emerged as the most productive and best-graded weapon in the passing game.
The usage chart also sharpened the debate in the backfield and along the line. Turbo Richard saw a heavier snap share than Lee Beebe Jr., while the offensive line held up better in pass protection than in run blocking, leaving the ground game with less room to breathe than the passing game had. For Indiana, that split matters now, because the numbers suggest the offense has pieces that can travel, but not yet a fully settled formula for how to use them. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas First Loss Just Put More Pressure On Michigan Trip
The 22-game run is over, and Indiana suddenly finds itself heading into a bigger test with a little less margin for error. The Hoosiers fell 19-15 to Ohio State in a Top-5 matchup, a loss that snapped the longest streak in the country and served as a reminder that the room for disappointment is small at this point in the season.
Even with several other highly ranked teams losing around them, Indiana still slipped a spot to No. 6 in the AP Poll, a sign that the Hoosiers did not get much help from the weekend results. Now the focus turns to a Week 8 trip to Michigan, where Indiana will have to show the Ohio State loss was a stumble rather than the start of a slide. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Calls Out What Indiana Must Fix Before Michigan
Curt Cignetti did not sugarcoat what went wrong after Indianas narrow loss, and the list started with the kinds of mistakes that can swing a tight game before it ever settles in. Missed field goals and turnovers were front and center in his postgame message, along with the broader issue of execution that kept the Hoosiers from making the most of their opportunities. With Michigan next on the schedule, the margin for those lapses gets even thinner.
Cignetti also pointed to the offensive balance Indiana needs to find, along with sharper quarterback accuracy, as the staff turns quickly to correction mode. The bigger concern now is not just fixing the details, but doing it while keeping the group mentally tough enough to carry those lessons through the rest of the season. Saturdays setback left little doubt about what has to improve first, and the Wolverines offer an immediate test of whether those adjustments can take hold. [Read more 🡒]