Unanswered questions remain for unbeaten Michigan football team
The Wolverines hadn’t finished filing off the field Saturday before the questions about the Spartans began.
They hadn’t finished singing “The Victors” in the northwest corner of the end zone after beating Indiana, and it was already time to talk about the state rivalry.
It was as if police at a crime scene were turning away curious onlookers from the event at hand: Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
Maybe that was for the best Saturday, after Michigan escaped with a 36-33 victory over Indiana on its home turf in a game every bit as ugly as some of U-M’s darkest defeats last season.
Maybe collective amnesia is exactly what the Wolverines need.
“We left so many plays on the field, it was ridiculous,” tight end Kevin Koger said. “We had snaps going over the quarterbacks’ heads, and we had so many negative yardage plays. … “We’ll find out what kind of team we are next week.”
That last line was a curious one, considering the Wolverines improved to 4-0 Saturday and, like they did against Notre Dame, showed moxie and poise when they needed it most.
A perfect September, and the Wolverines still don’t know what sort of team they’ve got?
Koger’s right, though. Victories aside, a lot of questions have sprouted the past two games.
And what he left unspoken was that if Michigan finds out what kind of team it has next week, it means the Wolverines don’t know right now.
They thought they had an idea after their come-from-behind win against Notre Dame, but now, in the past two weeks, they’ve regressed.
Doldrums lasted for a half against Eastern Michigan. On Saturday against the Hoosiers, the malaise lasted for about three-and-a-half quarters.
Indiana, never mistaken for an offensive juggernaut, rolled for 467 offensive yards Saturday against the Michigan defense, ripping off an 85-yard touchdown run for good measure. The Michigan offense, on the other hand, looked like the only film it studied this past week had been Three Stooges re-runs.
Snaps flew over the quarterbacks’ heads with regularity. Tate Forcier ran in circles behind center, desperately trying to make something happen, then overthrowing and under-throwing receivers.
But just when it looked like Indiana would win its first game in Ann Arbor since Lyndon Johnson resided in the Oval Office, Michigan pulled it together in the fourth quarter.
With their backs against the wall, Forcier completed a 19-yard pass to Kelvin Grady for a first down, keying a drive that resulted in a touchdown.
With their backs against the wall, Ryan Van Bergen sacked Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell for a 12-yard loss that keyed a defensive stop.
With their backs against the wall, on a third-and-seven, Forcier threw his best pass of the afternoon - perhaps his only good pass, a beautiful rainbow that found Martavious Odoms for a 26-yard touchdown.
With their backs against the wall, Donovan Warren wrestled the ball from Indiana receiver Damarlo Belcher for an interception that clinched. Those four plays allowed the Wolverines to box their way out of an otherwise embarrassing predicament.
“This one felt like it never should have happened,” Van Bergen said. “We made way too many mistakes. We bailed ourselves out, just there bailing water out of the boat at the end.”
They got away with it against Indiana, probably the worst team in the Big Ten. They won’t get away with it against anyone else in the conference.
They need to grow up in a hurry, in about six days to be exact. Like Koger said, for better or worse, the Wolverines will find out exactly what kind of team they are next week in East Lansing.
For now, they’re left understanding that Michigan, at 4-0 has an awful lot of potential. But the Wolverines also know an awful lot of questions remain.
Pete Bigelow is the sports producer for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petebigelow@annarbor.com or 734-623-2556.
Comments
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 7:35 p.m.
I don't see anything in Indiana's recent history to indicate anything more than a basement-level team, offensively or defensively. If UM surprises and gets to 6-0 with games at MSU and Iowa coming up, then I'll get excited. But the Wolverines have yet to play a game well enough to even challenge Iowa so far, and MSU has a far better passing attack than Indiana's.
truebluefan
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 12:11 p.m.
Macabre - I can't disagree with you about the state of the defense. It was really annoying when IU went the length of the field on their first series and scored a TD. There are no reasonable excuses for the poor defensive play in the first quarter of the last three games. Now, I think IU is probably better offensively than most people think. And I think their offense played over their heads against Michigan. Even so, IU is a team that we should've shut down much more often than we did. All that said, I think if Michigan was better at one position, linebacker, that would solve 75% of their defensive issues.
Rodie
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 12:04 p.m.
The win would have been ugly for either team. Looked like two bad MAC teams out there. Our defense is sad though. Hopefully this will serve as a wakeup call before a huge game.
Mazenbluehome
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 10:51 a.m.
Bigelow said, "They got away with it against Indiana, probably the worst team in the Big Ten. They wont get away with it against anyone else in the conference." You know this because...? Do you have far superior football knowledge? Just curious who or what qualifies you to make statements like these? Or all of you other experts talking about how bad UofM is. Or that Indiana is the worst team in the conference. According to who? Every team, no matter the quality, wins an ugly game at some point in a season, unless you're the Detroit Lions and lose them all.
supertornadoe
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 9:43 a.m.
Wow, a team that everyone said could be a dark horse contender for the Big Ten is now gonna be lucky to go 5-7. Come on! Fact is this type of game happens last year and we lose by 17. Was it a bad game, for the most part sure it was but they won! Once again the defense was not good but in remember in the second half they gave up 10 points. 6 of those on the big run. 23 points in the first half but they stood tall in the second half. 467 yards is assine but they won and they will keep winning. Unfortunately I think we'll be enduring several more of these shootouts style wins, but they will be wins. Go BLue! Beat the Spartans!
NorthMaple
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 3:21 a.m.
Next week will be a good way to test the waters, playing a hostile rivalry game against a team desperate for a win in their home stadium. However, a victory there will mean nothing compared to the next week in Iowa. The Hawkeyes just proved they are a force to be reckoned with. I'll take 4-0 for now, but the rest of the country is right to be cautious to heap praise on us.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 2:34 a.m.
I guess I don't have the blinders on like you do. I've been a Michigan fan since I was a little kid. I went to Michigan. It's a part of my life. Last season was hard to take. The team could have been 7-5 if that defense, which was stocked with athletes, had played anywhere near its potential. To say Indiana was one play and one half away from stopped defensively ignores more than half of the game. Compare that to the Indiana offense's performance against other teams. Far inferior teams. I get the trials and tribulations of installing the spread. I know Forcier will struggle at times, as he did today, but the kid has heart and he gives Michigan the best chance at success right now. But the defensive struggles trouble me, and I think Michigan may be the worst team in the Big Ten right now. 4-0 against mediocre competition isn't all that impressive. MSU may well be down near the bottom as well. It's not like next week's game will definitely be a blowout. But to be a blind fanboy and call any dissenting opinion "stupid" seems more than a little naive. The defense is nowhere near competitive right now.
Txmaizenblue
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 1:43 a.m.
Macabre Sunset: Did you watch the game or are you just sounding off in effort to sound important? 1st of all to suggest Michigan could be the worst team in the Big Ten right now is just stupid. They are 4-0. Did you go to MSU? Secondly, to suggest RR is not paying attention to the defense...again, stupid. Yes he runs the offense, primarily, but he has a defensive coordinator that has done a great job. Granted, they've got some young players learning, and have given up a lot of yards, but my friend Robinson has been lights out in the second half this year. Outside of ONE broken play - the 85 yard touchdown run, the defense only gave up one field goal in the second half this game. Robinson has been brilliant in making adjustments. I just wish he would blitz on long yardage plays more often.
Txmaizenblue
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 1:32 a.m.
Ranking will not go down. Too many ranked teams getting beat. Michigan will end up either 19 or 20. Count on it. People are BIGTIME over-reacting to today's game play. If none of the snap botches happen Michigan wins this game by at least two touchdowns. Get a grip people - the problem is an obvious one, and they will eventually work the kinks out.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Sep 27, 2009 : 1:31 a.m.
I don't see anything to indicate Indiana is anything but the worst team in the Big Ten. Other than today, which indicated Michigan might be. The offense had its problems, drives killed by having a new center, drives killed by Forcier's inexperience and limitations. But Indiana is bad enough that the Wolverines still scored a lot of points. It's the defense. It's terrible. It's overrated. It's poorly coached. It's porous. It's biodegradable. It's every bit as bad as last year's veteran group of underachievers. RichRod hasn't paid a second's notice to the defense since the day he got here, and it shows. All he cares about is his patented spread. And he's one of those ego guys who will let the ship sink before he changes his approach to fit a different paradigm. This team could well finish 5-7 (Delaware State isn't exactly poised to challenge any Big Ten team). I don't see how it can go to East Lansing and do anything right now.
VAwolvie
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 10:05 p.m.
PSU is not looking good to win this game. Man this season is wide open.
dudeabide
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 9:58 p.m.
listen, the hoosiers are a much better team than anyone is crediting. I am disappointed in all of you and especially Bigelow here - IU came to play. We did make unforced errors - but this isn't my father's Indiana team. They are going to win some games in the Big Ten.
VAwolvie
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 9:56 p.m.
Moosman needs to work on his long snaps until his arm is numb until Wednesday. With his offsides call and his four bad snaps he cost Michigan probably at least ten points in that game. Also with all the teams that are getting upset today Michigan will gain some ground and might be in the top twenty by tomorrow.
azwolverine
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 9:39 p.m.
I don't even care about our national ranking right now, that will all take care of itself if we keep winning games. Hopefully today was just a letdown the week before MSU because the schedule is only going to get tougher from here on out. Time to get back to work, UM...need to get a lot better for next week.
The Grinch
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 8:29 p.m.
I think this game told us one thing for certain: The Big Ten has the worst referees in college football, hands down.
UMthicknthin
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 8:22 p.m.
I'll take the win, considering the injuries, not the least of which is the starting center, where we had the most trouble, 42 yds lost on bad snaps. Next week will be the biggest step, how does the team do on the road.
NorthMaple
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 6:52 p.m.
This is one of those few weeks that, despite the win, our national ranking should go down. That is, if the voters have any sense.