Keys to the game: Michigan football at Indiana

Michigan improved to 5-0 with a solid win at Iowa, and the Wolverines haven’t peaked yet. The offensive line played its best game, though, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy continues to manage the offense extremely well.

And Blake Corum … well, he’s taken his game to another level. The Michigan junior running back won’t run 30 times this week — we expect to see a lot more carries for sophomore Donovan Edwards and even frosh C.J. Stokes, if all goes according to plan — but he’s going to get his, and we expect him to make the most of them.

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As for the defense — tighten it up. The linebackers, especially, need to be better in coverage, and the pass rush more consistent.

Tom Allen’s teams always seem to play Michigan tough. They’re physical — sometimes to a fault — and you’d better keep your head on a swivel against these guys. The Wolverines are much more talented, of course, but worse teams have beaten better.

Here are keys to a Michigan win over the Hoosiers:

Key No. 1: Come out focused and don’t look ahead 

We roll our eyes, too, at “trap game” talk, but these young guys are human. Iowa was a huge road test, and next week is top 10 Penn State at the Big House in yet another Fox “Big Noon” contest. It’s only natural to look at a team like Indiana that’s 3-2, but could just as easily be 1-4, and come out a bit flat.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh doesn’t see it. Not with this Michigan team.

“[We’re] just attacking the day,” the Michigan coach said. “We know it’ll be a big, big challenge. IU’s a darn good football team, always. They’ve always played us tough and good, similar to Iowa. I have a ton of respect for how they play, consider them a blue-collar team that always has a lot of talented guys and is really well-coached.

“So … we’re going to have to play good. It’s always going to come down to that. Whatever tag you put on a game, it comes down to if you play good, coach good and make sure that we’re prepared good. All the teams we play — this week, next week, every week after — we play good, we’ve got a really good chance of winning. If we don’t play good, we’ve got a really good chance to get beat.”

The key, like last week, is for Michigan to get up early and make the opponent chase them. No turnovers, no penalties … just a good, clean game.

Key No. 2: Be more aggressive with the pass defense, smart with the defensive packages

The Michigan strategy last week at Iowa was a good one — not much blitzing, more zone defense and quarters, and let Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras try to move the ball downfield with his arm. He had his moments, but he missed several open receivers and … well, he’s a statue back there. He’s no threat to run, and once you get to him, he’s not getting away.

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter all but assured, too, that the Wolverines weren’t going to get caught by a big gainer on a screen pass, sitting back in the “bend-but-don’t-break-defense.”

Indiana quarterback and Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak certainly isn’t the Big Ten standard, but he has his moments. He threw for 364 yards in a come-from-behind win over Western Kentucky. But he’s only completing 52.8 percent of his passes, and his 5.7 yards per attempt is last in the conference.

Regardless — he’s going to sling it. And if he has all day to throw, he’s going to complete some. This is a game to be a bit more aggressive with the blitzes, change up the looks in the secondary a bit more and create some mistakes.

The Hoosiers are going to run some tempo, too, so the defense isn’t going to be able to change personnel as much. It’s important for the Michigan defensive coaches to have packages on the field they’re comfortable with to match what Indiana wants to do on any given drive.

Key No. 3: Take advantage of Indiana’s biggest weakness

The Hoosiers are No. 116 out of 131 teams in pass defense. That’s awful. And Michigan certainly has the quarterback and the receivers to throw on these guys early and often.

On the flip side, they’re allowing 3.32 yards per rush, which is above average in the FBS. They’re going to play to slow Corum and the Michigan runners and try to force some third-and-longs, bring some pressure and different looks.

This is a game in which we’d like to see the Michigan play-callers open it up a bit and trust their young quarterback, especially if they get out to a lead. Plays are going to be there to be made, and it’s time to let the receivers eat a bit, too.

That doesn’t meant abandon the running game, of course. Not close. But it’s been a 61-39 run-to-pass ratio this year, and this is a game in which Michigan should be able to gash the opponent through the air.

The Breakdown: Michigan at Indiana

Other than the 2020 “COVID” game — which by now folks know should really have an asterisk given the opt-outs, practice limitations, etc. — Indiana hasn’t beaten Michigan since 1987. Even that one required a monsoon in the second half that helped prevent a comeback.

But the Hoosiers have played the Wolverines tough since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor in 2015. There was the loss*, and all but two of the seven meetings have been 11 points or less … and one went to double overtime.

No matter the talent level, Indiana plays physical football and requires that you match that, or risk getting a ball game.

Still … this is not a good football team. Michigan has the advantage at just about every position and should win going away to set up a top-10 showdown against Penn State the following week in Ann Arbor.