By the numbers: Trajectories of Michigan and Indiana, betting trends, more

Michigan football posted a 2-4 record last season but has turned things around in 2021, beginning the year 7-1. Indiana went 6-2 in 2020 but is 2-6 at the current juncture. The Wolverines and Hoosiers appear to be on opposite tracks heading into this weekend’s game.

Indiana’s 2020 campaign, a shortened season due to coronavirus, was one of the program’s best. The .750 winning percentage was the highest it had posted since 1917, while the No. 12 final ranking from the Associated Press was its best since 1967 (No. 4).

The Hoosiers had been trending in the right direction under head coach Tom Allen for some time, too. Their `11 Big Ten wins over the 2019 and 2020 seasons were tied for the most in school history over a two-year span (1987-88). For what it’s worth, both of those two-year stretches included a rare win over Michigan (1987 and 2020), with the Wolverines having won 39 of the last 41 meetings between the two teams.

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Michigan’s 2020 season was one of the worst in the history of the program that leads the nation in all-time wins. The Wolverines didn’t win a home game, and the 2-4 mark was the squad’s eighth-worst in terms of winning percentage (.333), though it’s important to note it was a Big Ten-only schedule.

Now ranked No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, set to face an unranked and reeling Hoosier squad on a four-game losing skid, Michigan and its opponent have completely flipped their trajectories from a year ago.

Betting Trends: Michigan Football vs. Indiana

Michigan is a 20.5-point favorite over Indiana, with the over/under for total points set at 50.5.

• Michigan is 6-2 against the spread this season.

• Indiana is 2-6 against the spread in 2021.

• The Wolverines have been favored by 18.5 points or more three times this season, covering the spread in two of those contests. The one failure to cover was a 20-13 win over Rutgers when they were favored by 20 points.

• The Hoosiers have been underdogs by 18.5 points or more this season one time, failing to cover the spread against Ohio State (54-7 loss).

• Indiana is 4-1-1 against the spread in its last six matchups with Michigan.

• The total has gone over in five of Indiana’s last seven tilts.

• The total has gone over in four of Michigan’s last six games but under in five of the Wolverines’ last six home contests.

By The Numbers: Michigan Football vs. Indiana Hoosiers

1 Player — walk-on second-year freshman kicker Cole Hussung — on Michigan’s roster hails from Indiana. He’s a native of Floyds Knobs, Ind.

1.25 Tackles for loss allowed per game and 0.38 sacks yielded per contest for Michigan, with both of those marks leading the Big Ten and NCAA.

2 Of the four longest passing plays in school history belong to redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara, who threw an 87-yard scoring toss to sophomore wideout Cornelius Johnson against Northern Illinois and connected with freshman Andrel Anthony for a 93-yard touchdown at Michigan State.

No. 2 Is where Michigan stands nationally in kick return defense (12.62-yard average) and No. 11 in net punt coverage unit (43.25-yard average).

5 Straight games forcing at least one turnover for Michigan, including four consecutive contests with multiple takeaways. Conversely, Indiana hasn’t turned the ball over during its last two tilts but has given it away 12 times this season.

5.38 Penalties per game for the Maize and Blue, which ranks 33rd in the land. Last season against Indiana, the Wolverines committed eight penalties for a whopping 89 yards.

7.0 Sacks for each of Michigan redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo and junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, which is tied for the lead in the Big Ten and shares the No. 13 ranking nationally. Ojabo has generated a sack in each of the last four games.

7-4 Is Indiana’s record in its last 11 road games, but the Hoosiers are 1-3 away from Memorial Stadium this season, including losses in all away Big Ten tilts (at Iowa Sept. 4, at Penn State Oct. 2 and at Maryland Oct. 30).

10 Interceptions versus eight passing touchdowns for Indiana this season.

10 Is also the number of touchdowns that the Hoosiers have rushed for collectively this season … plus the amount of scores that each of Michigan’s top two running backs, second-year freshman Blake Corum and redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins, have compiled.

10.6 Points per game for junior kicker Jake Moody, making him the No. 9 scorer in the country. He has converted on 13 of his last 14 field goal attempts, and his 85 points for the season lead the team.

19th Nationally is where Michigan checks in at third-down conversion percentage defense (32.8), while the Wolverines slot 25th in third-down success rate (46.2). Indiana, on the other hand, is 81st in third-down offense (38.2 percent) and 46th in third-down defense (36.8).

121st in the country and 13th in the Big Ten is where Indiana ranks in completion percentage (52.9). Four different Hoosier quarterbacks have thrown passes this season.

242 Yards is how many Indiana freshman quarterback Donaven McCulley threw for against Maryland last week, an Indiana true freshman record. The 18-year-old was born on Jan. 15, 2003, and is expected to start his second career game against the Maize and Blue.