Indiana's Tandon Doss is hauled down by Michigan's J.T. Floyd (12) and Cameron Gordon (2) after a short gain in the fourth quarter Saturday. It was one of the few times the Michigan defense corralled Doss, who caught 15 passes for 221 yards.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana wide receiver Tandon Doss may be known for his hands. It is everything else about his game, though, that helped him shred the Michigan football team's defense.

The junior from Indianapolis took double teams, took essentially whatever the Wolverines tried to do Saturday in their 42-35 win over Indiana and mocked it.

He set career highs with 15 catches and 221 yards, picking on a young Michigan secondary that made him look like one of the best receivers in the country.

“(Doss) was all over the field,” Michigan defensive backs coach Tony Gibson said. “He was running it, (catching it), he’s a great player.”

What was most impressive was his toughness. Doss ran through the middle of the Michigan defense often Saturday.

Even when he got hurt in the second half, Doss came back and made big plays for Indiana as it tied the score with a little over a minute remaining at 35-35. And there was nothing he could do as he watched from the sidelines as Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson created a last-minute game-winning drive of his own.

And considering how often Indiana’s offense was on the field - 98 plays - he had never been a part of a game like that before.

“I can feel it in my body right now,” Doss said. “It’s something else. But it was great.”

It just, as he said, wasn’t enough. For the second straight year, Doss hurt Michigan.

Last year, he caught his career-long pass - a 56-yarder - against the Wolverines. He also ran for a career-high 41 yards a year ago.

This year he just beat on Michigan every single way possible except for scoring. He accounted for 46 percent of Indiana’s 480 receiving yards Saturday.

Instead of scoring, though, he helped open the field for three other Hoosiers to score touchdowns.

“That’s as good a five wideouts on one team that I’ve ever coached against,” Gibson said. “They made plays.”

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