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Indiana coach Tom Allen talks Mike Hart, praises Michigan

Chris Balasby:Chris Balas•10/09/22•

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Indiana coach Tom Allen had Mike Hart on his staff. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

When Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart collapsed on the sideline Saturday, it became a personal matter to Tom Allen. Hart worked for the Indiana coach for several years, working his way up to associate head coach, and the two have remained close. 

Hart was reported in “stable” condition, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh reported after the game, a 31-10 U-M win.

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“Prayers for Mike Hart. I don’t know the situation, but I did talk to Coach [Jim] Harbaugh at the end of the game,” Allen said. “I’m very close with Mike. I talked to him even this week via text before we played him. It sounds like he is going to be okay, but obviously, a concern when he went down. 

“Our hearts for him are heavy …. and his family. Prayers for them; thoughts for them. We’re praying that he is going to have a full recovery.”

As for the game, Allen was proud of the way his team played. They had the Wolverines tied at the half, 10-10, but couldn’t keep up. 

They “fought their tails off,” Allen said.

“We had a chance in the fourth quarter against a fourth ranked team in the country … a really good football team,” Allen added. “You get a chance to be able to be in the fourth quarter, to go find a way to win … and we didn’t finish. So, that’s highly disappointing.

“Obviously, offensively not scoring any points the second half, just two weeks in a row of that, and it’s got to change. It’s got to change.”

He gave Michigan credit for taking over late, noting he felt his defense wore down. At the same time, he said his team made critical mistakes at the wrong times.

“Bottom line is that there are just some things that they try to do to you, and they do a good job of being a big personnel [team] and creating some lighter pictures,” Allen said. “They have athletic tight ends to be able to do that, which makes it tough as you’re trying to get the matchups you want …. and maybe have a chance to expose some of our younger guys that had to play due to injuries.

“Honestly, I think just a couple of adjustments there … we had a couple of communication errors on a key third downs. The first long drive that they had where they had the ball inside the 2 … I was very frustrated with. But our kids fought hard. I think other than the first drive, to me, it was our guys not executing on some critical second and longs and third and longs. … We had a chance to get them on the second and longs to get into the third and longer.”

Instead, Michigan kept drives — and as a result, their perfect season — alive. 

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