A year ago, the Indiana football team came tantalizingly close to knocking off Michigan in the Big Ten opener before then-freshman quarterback Tate Forcier led a fourth-quarter drive to give the Wolverines a 36-33 win.

On Saturday, the two teams play again in their Big Ten openers and both look strikingly similar -- good offense, questionable defense -- and are both undefeated.

To help us break down the game, AnnArbor.com caught up with Dustin Dopirak of the Bloomington Herald Times to get the scoop on IU.

Check out what he has to say:

Q: How good is the Indiana offense?

Dustin Dopirak: "Well, the passing game is really, really good. The running game is shaky at best. So how good can an offense be when it can pass but not run? I think that's what this week's game will at least begin to show. But I do think the passing game is legitimately excellent. Ben Chappell was solid last year, but he's been on point since spring practice. He isn't very mobile, but he has a strong arm, he can make just about every throw and he has great field vision. He has a long list of targets and he can see the entire field. (IU coach Bill) Lynch says that he always finds the open man, which makes the receivers work hard because they know they'll get the ball if they're open. I believe that. The wide receivers are all very good, and there's depth there. Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher are obviously the headliners, but Terrance Turner is the leader and the anchor. Duwyce Wilson is bound to be the go-to-guy as soon as Doss and Belcher graduate, and Kofi Hughes could be a star in a few years as well. The tight ends, especially Ted Bolser, have been excellent in the red zone.

"So basically, I think this team can throw against most teams. Now, the running game isn't so good. I think Darius Willis has all the talent and tools you can ask for in that position. The offensive line has been excellent at pass blocking but not so much at run blocking so far as I can tell. They haven't shown they can dominate even inferior defenses, so until they do that, the offense as a whole is somewhat suspect."

Q: What's with the Indiana defense? Do they just not have any playmakers there? Do they have anyone who can contain Denard Robinson?

DD: "The Indiana defense hasn't been good in some time, and we're trying to figure out why. So far, they don't have any real playmakers there, but I'm not sure if that's the only explanation, because you can have a decent defense with no-names if the guys are just solid. So far, this group isn't. Last year's defense wasn't particularly good either, but in Jammie Kirlew, they at least had one guy they could rely on to get in the backfield and cause havoc. Sometimes Darius Johnson can do that. Sometimes Larry Black can do that, sometimes Adam and Tyler Replogle can do that. The Replogles have been the most consistently solid, but even they aren't the type to pile up tackles for loss and sacks.

"As for containing Robinson, I think you know that there's no one person who can contain him. Can they do it as a team? I doubt it. They had a hard time keeping Towson quarterback Chris Hart from beating them. That obviously doesn't bode well against Robinson. But I guess in this game, it's not going to be about shutting down Robinson so much as it will be about slowing him down. If they can just keep him from scoring on absolutely every play, force them to drag some drives out and just force a few punts, they might be able to score with them."

Q: How much have the players and coaching staff talked about last year? They were about one play away from beating Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time in forever. Does that play into anything for the Hoosiers this week?

DD: "They haven't said much about it publicly, at least not in the sense of calling it a revenge game or something like that. It's not Lynch's style, and most of his players don't tend to fuel the hype machine. They've talked about what they remember from the game, and said it shows just how close they were and how every play is important, but they haven't talked about evening scores. Now, are they discussing that privately? I don't know, and it's certainly possible. And the fan base certainly looks at that as a big deal, because they really did think it was going to happen."

Q: Indiana football has never had the strongest fanbase in the Big Ten. Are you getting the sense people are jumping on board with Bill Lynch and Friends? What's the atmosphere in Bloomington leading up to Michigan showing up and the Heisman frontrunner coming to town?

DD: "Enthusiasm for football in Indiana is always tepid. Obviously basketball is what the fans care about, and Indiana has so rarely been good in football that the sport usually just serves as a warm-up and diversion until basketball season, anyway. That said, I'm hearing there's a chance there will be a sizable crowd this weekend, in part because of that revenge factor, because the Hoosiers are 3-0 and haven't had time to start falling yet, and because there's not another circle-on-your-calendar game this year. Usually, they break 50,000 only for Ohio State and Purdue, which are both road games this year, but there's a chance they could come close to that for this game.

"As for jumping on board with Lynch, I think they certainly want to. It's really hard to find a nicer, more genuine guy in his profession, and the fans who have come in contact with him recognize that. There are things they like about what hes done so far — the 2011 recruiting class already has 21 commits, including two four-stars — but since the bowl season, he hasn't proven he can beat anyone he isn't supposed to. He has some support from the fan base, and I think most would like to see him do well just because of how good of a guy he is, but as a group, they will be looking for new blood soon if things don't get better."

Q: In your opinion, what is the best way for them to use the super-versatile Tandon Doss and how does his speed compare to that of Robinson?

DD: "I think what they've done with him in the past is mostly good. They obviously throw the ball his way a lot, use him as a kick returner and hand the ball off to him on reverses, jet sweeps and options out of the wildcat formation, though they haven't run any wildcat this year. I don't know what else you can do to get a guy the ball other than that. In the passing game, he's just as effective as a decoy as he is as a go-to receiver. He opens up space for Belcher, Turner and others to operate. I think it's important for them to show they can do different things to get the ball in his hand, but in the same way, I don't think they need to go into every offensive play wondering how they can get him the ball. There rest of their skill players are too good to be minimalized for the sake of forcing the ball to Doss.

"How does his speed compare to that of Robinson? It's really not that close. He has very good speed, but part of the reason he wasn't higher recruited, according to his high school coach, is he was never a big combine, 40-yard-dash guy. Is he fast? Absolutely, but he was never one of those 4.3 burners that would've earned scholarship offers from say, Michigan. He's one of those guys who has football speed and, more importantly, football skills. The man's hands are absolutely ridiculous. He can catch the ball by the nose with one hand. Seriously."

Q: We ask this every week. What's the best case/worst case situations for an Indiana win or the Hoosiers being blown out of Memorial Stadium? Also, what do you think happens Saturday?

DD: "I think best-case scenario is they slow Robinson down just enough to keep Michigan under 40 points and win in a shootout. Worse-case scenario is they give up some big plays early, stagnate on offense, lose confidence, turn the ball over, and go down by three or four touchdowns by half. Personally, I think it will be mostly the sort of shootout most expect (though there really isn't enough time in the game for it to be 50-45 like some people are saying). And I do think Michigan comes out on top, because I don't think IU can really contain Robinson."

Follow Dopirak's work at the Bloomington (Ind.) Herald Times, on their blog Hoosier Scoop or on Twitter @DustinDopirak

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein