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Michigan takes on Indiana this week and the main focus for the Wolverines has been to not overlook Indiana as Ohio State is on deck next week. The team knows that Indiana can’t be overlooked as a trap game opponent and that they have to focus on them before Ohio State.
Before taking on Michigan this week, Indiana head coach Tom Allen spoke to the media and gave the Michigan football program some praise for their success.
“Really a lot of respect for them and their coaches and the talent that they have and how they have recruited and they are who they are historically,” Allen said. “But they just, they’re playing their best football, watching them on film the last couple days. And really impressive football team, physically and athletically and just doing a lot of great things in all three phases, they have got talented specialists. And excellent quarterback and stable of running backs. And, boy, really impressive receiver core. Big, physical, experienced offensive line.”
He then transitioned to their defense led by defensive coordinator Don Brown and how good they are behind him.
“Some new faces on defense,” Allen said. “But very, very athletic. Very explosive. And Don Brown does a phenomenal job schematically and they play really hard. And Coach Harbaugh has got them playing really, really well. So I know they had a big game last week, an important game for them and they played really, really good football, so, in all three phases. So just really an opportunity for them to come here.”
Allen wasn’t the only coach to speak to the media as defensive coordinator Kane Wommack spoke about facing Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and how he’s changed since playing at Ole Miss, where his dad, Dave Wommack was the defensive coordinator when Patterson was there.
“I’ve gone against Shea Patterson now when I was the defensive coordinator at South Alabama when we went up there to play Ole Miss, then of course last season and this season,” Wommack said. “My dad was the defensive coordinator when he was at Ole Miss, so I’ve kind of known about him for a long time. I think very highly of him and how he plays the game. Certainly, I was a much bigger fan when he was with my dad at Ole Miss, now he just seems to be a big pain in the tail, but he’s just a very talented football player. He’s very gifted, he can make all the throws, he can extend plays and drives with his feet. I think what they have done and evolved to offensively certainly meshes well with what his skillset, and I think they’ve taken advantage of their quarterback and their outside skill.”
“I think they have done a good job of developing him into becoming more of a complete pocket-passer,” Wommack said. “I think the emphasis for him has been to stay in the pocket, keep his eyes downfield. I do think one of the best things … I think him and Johnny Manziel are the two best players that I’ve faced in terms of when they escape the pocket, they keep their eyes downfield. … He does a great job of keeping his eyes downfield, always looking to extend drives and throw the ball and not scramble and rush.”
Indiana offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer also spoke to the media about the Wolverines defense, led by Brown.
“Yeah they’re really good on defense,” DeBoer said. “They have good personnel, and obviously Coach Brown with what he’s doing with his group, he’s having a lot of fun with them, you can tell. He’s letting them play, and the thing that’s really impressive I think is how disciplined they are with what they do. They come at you a lot of different plays, they’re going to keep you off balance. Up front, there’s just a lot of things happening. It’s really impressive, you can tell there’s a lot of experience that’s going into the plans that he puts out there on the football field each and every Saturday.”
DeBoer also brought up how Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey will put his past issues against Michigan behind him this week and focus on the game this week.
“I’ve flipped through those games and understand what’s taken place,” DeBoer said. “But we’ll figure out how to attack their defense and lay out the plan of what we’re going to try to accomplish on Saturday.”
Michigan takes on Indiana on Saturday, November 23 at 3:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.