Staff Predictions: Michigan football vs. Indiana

Michigan will face Indiana in what appears to be miserable conditions Saturday — a 90 percent chance of steady rain and a high of 50 degrees. For some reason, this is the FOX Big Noon featured game this week … we assume because of the proud histories of both programs. 

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Michigan is on the cusp of becoming the first collegiate program to reach 1,000 wins. It will happen at some point this year, most likely, against Maryland if the Wolverines are able to run the table until then and then handled the Terps. Indiana, meanwhile, reached the 700-mark last year — in losses. But hey … a milestone is a milestone, and they were the first to get there (so, all due respect to Ricky Bobby if you’re first here, you’re actually last … or close to it). 

A few years ago, Tom Allen was the hot name during a COVID season that, in hindsight, didn’t really matter and has a big, fat asterisk next to it. That includes IU’s home win over Michigan in front of a dozen or so fans — in a normal year there would have been 20,000 or so Wolverines fans there. While it’s a nice memory for them, it’s pretty much irrelevant, and the Hoosiers have come back down to earth under normal conditions. 

Now, they enter the Michigan game with not only a new offensive coordinator midseason, but also the highest paid OC in school history in Rod Carey. He vowed not to change the entire offense, but to “concentrate on what they do best” — fantastic news for Michigan given that turning the ball over is one of their fortes. 

Maybe this is the game in which they turn it all around. It’s going to be windy and rainy, going against a Michigan defense that’s one of the best in the country. Slippery balls, obvious mismatch — what could go wrong? 

Nothing went wrong for Doug Skene, who picked a 42-10 win in Minneapolis last week to win staff picks. This week’s champion receivers a VHS copy of the movie Hoosiers and an umbrella for the way home from the stadium Saturday evening. The picks: 

CHRIS BALAS: These games have gotten boring, and this will be the latest exhibit. That will all change in November, of course, heading into next year, as well. For now, though, it’s the 1970s all over again. Michigan 38, Indiana 6

JOHN BORTON: You keep reading these pieces about “Three Keys To A Michigan Victory Over Indiana.” Here’s another, with an injection of reality in a series featuring two Hoosiers wins since 1967.

1. Make sure the Michigan team busses don’t float away in the day-long rain.

2. Set a J.J. McCarthy meditation alarm clock, ensuring he’s good to go at high noon.

3. Block any attempts by Indiana to forge an NCAA rules tweak, allowing it to sign four dozen new players via the transfer portal by Saturday.

This one’s pretty simple: Wash, Rinse (all day long) and Repeat. Michigan 38, Indiana 6 

CLAYTON SAYFIE: While there’s some unpredictability to the Indiana offense with a new coordinator, there’s just not enough talent on the field. The Hoosiers have been torched on defense, too. Michigan should suffocate them like the boa constrictor analyst Joel Klatt and Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck say the Wolverines are.

Michigan has won six games in a row by 24-plus points for the first time since 1992. Make it seven for the first time since 1976. Michigan 31, Indiana 0

ANTHONY BROOME: Michigan is rolling right now and is into the second half of the season already, which is hard to believe. Time flies when you are stuffing your opponent in a locker week in and week-out. I expect more of the same this weekend against an Indiana team that is arguably the least talented group in the Big Ten. It should be slow and ugly, and the weather will not be great. But it will still look like most of the other games have. Michigan 31, Indiana 3

DOUG SKENE: Michigan has yet another game to sharpen up and fine tune both sides of the ball.  Indiana’s top TE and QB both play for Michigan in 2023 and I expect the Wolverine defense to smother the 109th ranked offense in the country.
Michigan’s offense must continue to stay sharp and keep JJ clean and happy, which they will do against the 64th ranked Indians defense.  Dare I say these games are getting boring? Michigan 48, Indiana 9