Michigan walked out of overtime with a 13-6 loss to Indiana, and the box score told a familiar story: the defense did plenty, the offense did not do enough. On a day where neither side found much rhythm, the Hoosiers made the winning plays when it mattered, while Michigan’s attack kept handing away chances.
The quarterback spot was the clearest source of frustration. Tommy Carr showed a little something with his legs in his first career start and made a couple of good plays, but the mistakes outweighed the positives.
He tried to pitch the ball to Savion Hiter on what looked like a dead option play and turned it into a lost fumble. Later, he forced a throw to JJ Buchanan into quadruple coverage and was intercepted.
Those two turnovers directly set up Indiana’s two field goals, which were the only points the Hoosiers scored in regulation. Carr also took a costly sack late in the first half, which left Trey Butkowski with a tough 53-yard field goal try that missed.
The running game never really got rolling, and the play-calling didn’t help. Michigan kept trying to bounce runs outside against an Indiana front that clearly had the edge, instead of leaning more on the tackles, where success had shown up the week before.
Jordan Marshall was the most effective back, even with just 26 yards, because he managed to grind out a couple of key first downs and extend drives. Savion Hiter finished with 15 yards, and Bryson Kuzdzal had 11.
At receiver, Michigan had a hard time uncovering anyone against the Indiana secondary. JJ Buchanan was the most productive of the group with six catches for 57 yards, and Channing Goodwin showed up in the box score for the first time this season with two receptions for 32 yards.
One of those came on a 24-yard improv play with Carr. Better days should be coming for this unit, but this wasn’t one of them.
The tight ends offered a little more help. Hogan Hansen functioned as a safety valve and caught four passes for 34 yards, then nearly scored what would have been the game-tying touchdown in overtime before his foot landed out of bounds.
Jalen Hoffman added two catches for 14 yards. Even so, this group still isn’t involved enough in the passing game.
Up front, Michigan was missing Blake Frazier and Andrew Sprague, which meant Evan Link started at left tackle and Marky Walbridge at right tackle. The line ran into its toughest test of the season and got beat up.
Indiana finished with 10 tackles for loss and four sacks, and Michigan’s run game averaged just 1.4 yards per carry. Against one of the country’s toughest fronts, Michigan was outmatched.
The defense, though, gave Michigan a real chance. The defensive line wasn’t flawless, especially with Indiana finding some success early in runs by Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe, but it still held up well enough overall and stayed disruptive against a strong offensive line.
Michigan’s linebackers helped clean things up once backs got into the second level and also got involved as pressure players when Indiana passed. Nathaniel Staehling led the group with seven tackles, while Troy Bowles had five tackles and one hurry.
The secondary was the standout of the afternoon. After a rough outing against Penn State last week, Michigan’s defensive backs answered with their best work of the day.
Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry did a strong job against Charle Becker and Nick Marsh, holding the two receivers to a combined five catches for 57 yards. Berry also intercepted Josh Hoover for Hoover’s first pick of the season.
Chris Bracy continued his strong play with 13 tackles, including one for loss. That unit showed up big; the result just didn’t follow.
Special teams didn’t provide the lift Michigan needed either. Butkowski missed the 53-yard try before halftime badly, then pushed a 32-yarder wide in the third quarter in a kick that could have swung regulation the other way. He finished 2-for-4, with makes from 29 and 26 yards.
The coaching grade was harsh for a reason. Jay Hill’s defense was not the problem and deserves the credit it earned.
The issues were on the offensive side, where Michigan kept making decisions that undercut its own chances. Jason Beck’s most glaring miscue came on third-and-goal from the one, when Michigan called a bootleg that ended in a sack.
Kyle Whittingham also made a clock-management mistake near halftime by calling timeout with 23 seconds left rather than letting the clock run down, which gave Indiana a chance at a field goal attempt of its own. That kick was missed, but the blunder stood.
With three losses now on the ledger, Michigan’s college football playoff and Big Ten race hopes are effectively gone. What remains is a roster that keeps getting let down by an offense and a staff that haven’t put it in position to succeed.
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