Before the Michigan/Indiana game, there was a lot of buzz around Indiana that this would be the weekend that they would snap their 42 year winless streak at Ann Arbor. Why not, even though it was a road game against a ranked Big Ten (11) opponent, Michigan hasn't really been the world beaters that we expect them to be. A win at the Big House didn't seem to be that impossible. Minnesota did it. Hell, Appalachian State has done it. No biggie. Why not IU?
At the end of the Michigan's 36-33 win over the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday, I feel that there are a lot of things that I have learned about the Indiana Hoosiers.
- Indiana is better than I thought. They gave Michigan everything that they wanted, and gave a nationally televised audience a great game.
- Kellen Lewis would not have done well in the "Pistol" offense. But I would have paid a lot of money to watch him run the triple option against this Michigan defense.
- Indiana at its almost best can't beat Michigan at their almost worst.
Now, that last one may not seem fair. IU dominated Michigan in the second half. They kept Michigan in check for the first three series of the last 24, and made the Wolverines look a bit like a MAC team. Michigan's two true freshmen quarterbacks looked like freshman quarterbacks, and the second string playing showed why they aren't first string. It started to look like Indiana might have pulled it off.
But Michigan showed that great teams with a good effort will usually beat a good team with a great effort. Michigan pulled together a game winning drive and (allegedly) picked off Ben Chappell's first attempt in Indiana's "two minute drill".
But don't kid yourself; the controversial interception didn't do in the Hoosiers. Indiana failed to convert four red zone trips into touchdowns and didn't take advantage of Michigan's obvious weakness in the middle of the offensive line. The Hoosiers gave it their best, but it just wasn't good enough.
Now Indiana has to take on the Ohio State University at home. Maybe the Hoosiers can make a game of this one too, but it's going to take a better effort than they showed today. They have to be perfect.
