Michigan’s latest win showed exactly why Kyle Whittingham can’t stop talking about turnovers.
The coach has been hammering that point for weeks, and on Monday at Schembechler Hall he leaned into it again while previewing the Week 8 matchup with No. 6 Indiana.
Michigan’s 21-18 win over Penn State featured three takeaways - two interceptions and a forced fumble - and all three turned directly into touchdowns. It was the second time in six games that the Wolverines won the turnover battle.
That kind of margin is going to matter even more against Indiana, which comes in at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Whittingham pointed to the Hoosiers’ own ball security as a major hurdle.
"They've got an amazing stat ... for 31 straight games, they have not lost the turnover margin − 31 straight games," Whittingham said. "It's longest streak in 30 years, from what I understand.
And so, you know, you've heard me talk ad nauseum about the turnover margin, and you talk about why they've won more games over the last two and a half years than anyone in the country. That's a big reason right there."
Michigan’s offense hasn’t given the staff much to feel good about lately, and the numbers show why the defense’s sudden knack for forcing mistakes has become so important. The Wolverines have scored five touchdowns over the last eight quarters.
One was a pick-six. Three others came after the defense created short fields, including two drives that started inside the red zone.
The other came after Chris Bracy’s interception in the second half on Saturday, which was the only time in the last two games Michigan crossed midfield and finished the drive with points.
Indiana’s defense only makes the challenge sharper. The Hoosiers rank No. 4 nationally in scoring defense at 12.9 points per game, No. 4 in run defense at 75.6 yards per game, and are tied for No. 40 in turnover margin at plus-three. That means Michigan has to manufacture every edge it can get.
"Magnifies all those things, absolutely," Whittingham said. "They do not beat themselves. They they do a great job of eliminating bad football and playing solid across the board."
One encouraging sign for Michigan was the offensive line’s performance against Penn State. The group allowed just one pressure on 18 pass snaps and helped produce a season-high 211 rushing yards at 6 yards per carry. It also sprung Bryson Kuzdzal for a 43-yard touchdown run and Savion Hiter for a 41-yard gain, the longest runs of both players’ careers and the first two carries of more than 17 yards by a Michigan running back in any game this season.
"The offensive line played their best football in the second half of that game of the whole season, there was no question about that," Whittingham said of what he saw on film. "They were coming off the ball. Their combinations were outstanding ... they came out with a purpose in that second half."
The unit did that without both starters on the right side. Avery Gach filled in at guard for Brady Norton, while Blake Frazier continued at tackle for the fourth straight game in place of Andrew Sprague.
Whittingham said the staff will see whether anybody can return this week, but he also noted that Michigan may still have to sort out the right guard spot even if Norton is available because Gach graded out well. He also said Andrew Babalola dressed for the first time in his career, though the staff felt he still needed more time after only one week of practice. Longer term, there is at least the possibility of moving him to tackle and sliding Evan Link back to left guard, where Nathan Efobi has been replaced by Link at left tackle over the past four weeks.
"We hope so, that gives a little more flexibility for us," Whittingham said of the possibility. "Going forward, we're going to try to start integrating him and, you know, whatever is the best situation. Left tackle is where he he really feels most comfortable, and so we'll see."
Whittingham also addressed Bryce Underwood’s response after being pulled at halftime against Penn State. The sophomore did not withdraw from the moment; instead, he was active on the sideline, dapping up Tommy Carr, encouraging teammates and even running out to chest-bump Carr after his 12-yard touchdown run put Michigan ahead by 10 with less than three minutes left.
Whittingham praised that reaction and made clear how highly he thinks of Underwood.
"I'm a fan of Bryce Underwood," Whittingham said. "He's a great person.
He's got a great personality. You know, he's going to go far in life ... he handled that as well as he possibly could have and as well as I've ever seen a starter that got replaced handle it.
He was supporting Tommy. He was thrilled when Tommy scored.
"He was helping him on the sideline, talking through things that he saw on the previous possession, and so I don't think there's a chance or a way that he could have handled it any better than he did. Very pleased, very professional on his part, too."
CBS reported during the game that Underwood had spent part of the bye week in California with Jordan Palmer, his personal quarterbacks coach, which sparked speculation online. Whittingham said the entire team had the weekend off during the bye, as is common in the sport, and explained that players used the time for family, recovery or simply a break.
He said Michigan still held practices or meetings Monday through Thursday, and that Underwood’s trip was work-related, not a vacation.
"We never have optional practices and so we did practice or had meetings Monday through Thursday," Whittingham said. "Then after Thursday, the players were free to do what they needed to do Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And my understanding, Bryce went down to California and worked with a personal trainer ... he wasn't just on vacation.
"He went down there and was working his tail off those three days."
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