What they're saying before Michigan football battles Indiana

Michigan Wolverines football is set to battle with No. 8 Indiana Saturday in Bloomington. Here’s a look around the country at what they’re saying before kickoff.

Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune: Forget basketball — No. 8 Indiana football will play in front of another sellout crowd with its perfect record on the line vs. Michigan

[Indiana players] Carter Smith and CJ West aren’t interested in any history lessons about Indiana football.

Sure, they understand why everyone around Bloomington is so excited as the Hoosiers take the field — even with basketball ramping up.

They’re 9-0 for the first time in school history and one win from producing the program’s first 10-win season. At 6-0 in conference play, they share the Big Ten lead with No. 1 Oregon.

They’re even in position to make the expanded 12-team playoff, a position that seemed unthinkable even as first-year coach Curt Cignetti touted his past successes as an indication of what was possible in 2024.

And now they’re preparing to host Michigan, a team that has made life miserable for Indiana for more than a century. Yet Smith and West are unfazed by what’s happening around them.

“There’s nothing (different). We prepare the same we do every single week,” West, a fifth-year senior defensive lineman from Nazareth, said after the first College Football Playoff rankings had Indiana at No. 8. “This is the biggest game because it’s the next game, and that’s how it is every week.”

That hasn’t always been the case at Indiana, especially when Michigan (5-4, 3-3) is in town.

The Wolverines have won 27 of the last 28 games in this series, with their only stumble coming in a 17-point loss in front of a tiny crowd during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Since then, the series has reverted to its customary fashion, with the Wolverines winning the last three by a combined 112-24. That includes a 52-7 romp last season as the Wolverines were rolling toward the national championship.

Now, though, the tables may be turned.

While the Hoosiers are ranked, Michigan is not. Indiana also has the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense (46.6 points per game) and third-stingiest defense (261 yards per game), while the Wolverines have relied heavily on a strong defense to carry a team that ranks 116th in scoring (21 ppg).
Plus the Hoosiers will be playing in front of their third straight sellout crowd at home and again will have a major network, CBS, in town to document college football’s most surprising team.

Rainer Sabin, The Detroit Free Press: Michigan football’s defense has a depth problem. It could be even worse next year

Next year, the problems could become even harder to solve. After all, [junior defensive tackles Kenneth] Grant and [Mason] Graham are expected to declare as early entrants for the NFL draft after this season. So too is Johnson, another junior. The departures of three potential first-round picks would demolish a solid core that also includes senior captain Josaiah Stewart, who has emerged as the team’s best pass rusher with 6½ sacks and two forced fumbles. The voids left by Grant, Graham, [junior cornerback Will] Johnson and Stewart would be significant, further depleting a roster that has been weakened by a pair of underwhelming recruiting classes in 2023 and 2024. The future of Michigan’s defense, as a result, looks rather bleak, especially if the injured Moore also decides not to return. But [defensive coordinator Wink] Martindale doesn’t buy that, saying it can be a quick fix if Michigan both replenishes and augments its talent base.

“We’re going to have to attack this offseason as hard as we can to turn some spots around and turn some spots over,” Martindale said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

In the meantime, Martindale will play the hand he has been dealt, which has not been nearly as good as he expected it would be when he took this job eight months ago.

Will Backus, CBS Sports: Michigan vs. Indiana prediction, pick, spread, football game odds, where to watch, TV channel, live stream

Indiana is for real. The Hoosiers faced their first honest bit of adversity (besides briefly losing quarterback Kurtis Rourke to injury) when they fell behind 10-0 to Michigan State early in Week 10, trailing for the first time all season. They subsequently ripped off 47 unanswered points to secure their ninth double-digit win of the year. The law of averages says Indiana is going to get taken to the brink at some point. It won’t be this week. Michigan is spiraling and its struggling offense won’t be able to keep up, especially since Indiana boasts the Big Ten’s best rush defense. Pick: Indiana -14 (-110)

Rainer Sabin, The Detroit Free Press: Shades of 2020 disaster are becoming increasingly visible with Michigan football

Over the course of a 14-minute press conference, he reverted to some version of this same line – “we’ve got to get better” — 12 different times.

One of those instances came after he was asked to explain Indiana’s great leap forward and Michigan’s massive dropoff. He credited [head coach Curt] Cignetti for “bringing in the right people” and doing an “unbelievable job with building the program how he has.”

During the offseason, Cignetti made an aggressive push in the transfer portal, acquiring 31 new players, including a hidden gem of a quarterback — Kurtis Rourke. Michigan, in contrast, stayed relatively pat –— adding just two starters, a kicker and a bunch of reserves to buttress specific position groups. Moore’s plan was to preserve Harbaugh’s infrastructure, maintain the status quo and “keep rolling.” Instead, things have fallen apart on his watch.

“Obviously,” Moore conceded, “the record is not where we want it to be.”

“It’s definitely a surprise to us as a team,” Paige said.

But it perfectly captures the state of a program that is at its lowest point since 2020. It’s why if there ever were a honeymoon period for Moore, it is now most certainly over.

Austin Mock, The Athletic: College football best bets Week 11: Why Ole Miss is overvalued vs. Georgia and Michigan can cover

I know that Michigan’s offense is not very good, and I’m enjoying Indiana’s run more than anyone. However, this is a step up in class for the Hoosiers in terms of athleticism. Michigan’s offense may not get anything going, but I think Indiana will have its hands full with Michigan’s defensive line.

Worst price to bet: Michigan +14 (-110)

Manny Navarro, The Athletic: College football Week 11 oddly specific predictions: Down go the Hoosiers!

Indiana’s strength of schedule (82nd according to The Athletic’s Austin Mock) is why the undefeated Hoosiers were No. 8 in the first installment of the CFP rankings. They have two wins over P4 teams with winning records: Washington (5-4) and Nebraska (5-4).

You’d have to be a little crazy at this point to think Curt Cignetti’s team isn’t for real considering it is beating FBS opponents by 27.8 points a game. Picking against Indiana here is probably dumb considering Michigan’s offense stinks. But I said at midseason the Hoosiers wouldn’t make the Playoff, and I can’t chicken out now. [Junior tight end] Colston Loveland is the hero.