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Michigan’s opponent in Week 13, the Indiana Hoosiers, has the respect of head coach Jim Harbaugh, and they certainly should.
This will be the fifth time the Wolverines and the Hoosiers have squared off with Harbaugh roaming the maize and blue sideline, and each of the previous four meetings have been decided by 11 points or less.
Those outside these two programs might not think of Indiana as much of a threat to the Wolverines – after all, the Hoosiers haven’t beaten Michigan since 1987 – but the coaches, players and fans of both programs know the real story.
The Wolverines trailed 17-15 at halftime of last year’s contest before taking control for a 31-20 victory. The previous season, in Bloomington, Michigan needed overtime to survive a 27-20 decision. In fact, the Wolverines’ past two trips to Memorial Stadium have resulted in overtime games. In 2015, Michigan won in a shootout – 48-41.
In between those two contests, the Wolverines had a 20-10 victory at the Big House in 2016.
As Michigan heads back to Bloomington this Saturday, the Hoosiers have the full attention of the head coach.
“Really good football team,” Harbaugh said. “[Indiana coach] Tom Allen’s done a really great job with the program there, and with the ball club.”
Allen was the Hoosiers’ defensive coordinator in 2016, before taking over the head coaching role for the 2017 season. He led Indiana to back-to-back 5-7 records in his first two seasons, but already has the Hoosiers up to seven wins this year. Before falling last week to Penn State, Indiana was ranked in the Associated Press’ Top 25 for the first time since 1994.
“I think he’s got a lot of enthusiasm,” Harbaugh said of Allen. “He’s really focused, you can tell, as a coach. And I think that rubs off on his football team.”
Indiana is allowing 21.4 point per game, which is tied for 32nd in the country. Allen’s strong background as a defensive coach is not lost on Harbaugh.
“He’s built that team to be a winning team through the defense,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a physical front…and very athletic in the secondary and at the linebacker position. They’ve got a lot of good schemes and adjustments. They’re very good by formation, through the varying formations, different calls to get to the same defensive structure.”
The Hoosiers’ offense doesn’t have the same explosiveness it once had under the previous regime, when Kevin Wilson was the head coach at Indiana. However, the Hoosiers are still within the Top 50 in scoring at 33.3 ppg (T-36th), and slightly higher than the Wolverines (33.0 ppg).
“I think they’re as challenging as any offense in the Big Ten,” Harbaugh said. “[They have] receivers that are dynamic, can make plays down the field. Quick, fast – catch the ball and run with it.
“They don’t beat themselves, and they make big plays. Good looking team too, from a physical standpoint, [and] an athletic standpoint in the way they run. … They can get on the edge. They can throw. They can [play] power football as well. Strong, athletic front, and their backs are really impressive looking and impressive running.”
One Hoosier to keep an eye on is quarterback Peyton Ramsey. As a sophomore last season, Ramsey threw for 195 yards and a touchdown against what was at the time to No. 1 pass defense in America. The quarterback also made plays with his legs, rushing to 51 yards on seven carries.
Ramsey’s dual-threat ability makes him tough to defend and scheme against, and Harbaugh noted that the now-junior has several starts under his belt to rely on.
“They’re really good up front. I’ve always thought Peyton Ramsey is a terrific quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “He played against us as a true freshman and played really well. He’s played a lot of good football [and is] a very experienced quarterback now.”
Michigan and its coach knows the challenge that lies ahead of them. Hoosier teams that failed to reach a bowl game the last two seasons still managed to go toe-to-toe with the Wolverines, and this Indiana squad in 2019 has already proven to be superior to the previous two.
In addition, this game is being played the week before Michigan hosts archrival Ohio State. It will be the third time in the last four years that the Wolverines play Indiana right before the Buckeyes. All these factors led Harbaugh to a very matter-of-fact statement about this Saturday’s game.
“Indiana’s going to be tough to beat,” he said. “But we’ll be tough to beat too.”
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