No. 6 Indiana has to shake off a painful loss fast, because Michigan is next.
After falling 19-15 to Ohio State on Saturday, the Hoosiers head to Ann Arbor for another tough Big Ten road test against the Wolverines, who are 4-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Curt Cignetti didn’t sugarcoat the stretch ahead.
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire as we get ready for Michigan," said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti.
Indiana is trying to move on from its first regular-season loss since Nov. 23, 2024, and that one also came against Ohio State. The loss in Columbus stung even more because the Hoosiers had a chance to steal it late. Wide receiver Nate Marsh appeared to haul in a potential touchdown pass from Josh Hoover with 1:02 left, but his first step was out of bounds.
Cignetti said the defeat didn’t look like his team’s usual standard.
"We fell short, plain and simple," Cignetti said. "Gave great effort and had our opportunities, for sure.
In some ways, we beat ourselves - which is uncharacteristic of this football team. But I certainly think we proved we're capable.
We just have to clean up a couple areas and use this setback to learn and grow, come back stronger and better."
The bigger issue for Indiana has been the ground game. For the second straight week, the Hoosiers couldn’t get much going on the run against a defense built to shut it down.
Against Ohio State, Indiana finished with 73 yards on 29 carries and averaged just 2.5 yards per attempt. Its longest run went for only eight yards. The week before against Nebraska, the Hoosiers managed 65 yards on 22 rushes, with Hoover’s 16-yard scramble standing as the longest gain.
Michigan presents another demanding test in that department. The Wolverines are No. 13 nationally in run defense, giving up 89.7 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry.
"It all starts up front," Cignetti said. "We all want more consistent production and explosive plays. We haven't gotten any explosive plays the last two weeks in the run game."
Michigan, meanwhile, comes in with real momentum after a second-half quarterback switch flipped last week’s game against Penn State. Down 3-0 at halftime, the Wolverines turned to freshman Tommy Carr for Bryce Underwood and watched the offense come alive in a 21-18 comeback win.
Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, threw only seven passes, completing five for 47 yards. But he protected the ball and added a key rushing touchdown with 2:58 remaining.
"Tommy is a very good runner," said Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham. "He's deceptively fast. ...All his testing numbers really tell you how quick and fast and explosive he is, but he doesn't look like it because he's so smooth."
Whittingham wouldn’t say Monday whether Underwood or Carr will start against Indiana. But with Underwood’s recent run of five interceptions and two touchdowns over his last 10 quarters - a stretch that included losses to Iowa and Minnesota - the freshman seems to have pushed his way into the discussion.
"Well, we saw good stuff out of Tommy in the second half and we know exactly what we're doing and the plan going forward," Whittingham said. "We're not going to tip our hand to the opponent, but we have a good plan in place. And that's about all I can say about that right now."
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