A version of this Michigan football opponent preview ran in The Wolverine ‘s 2024 football preview magazine, which can be ordered at TheWolverineOnDemand.com . Here’s a look at the Indiana Hoosiers , U-M’s Nov. 9 opponent in Bloomington.
More Michigan football opponent previews: Fresno State | Texas | Arkansas State | USC | Minnesota | Washington | Illinois | Michigan State | Oregon
Indiana quick facts
All-Time Series: Michigan leads 62-10
First Meeting: U-M 12, IU 0 (Nov. 3, 1900 in Ann Arbor)
Last Meeting: U-M 52, Indiana 7 (Oct. 14, 2023 in Ann Arbor)
Head Coach: Curt Cignetti, 0-0 at Indiana (first year) and 119-35 overall (14th year)
2023 In Review: 3-9, 1-8 Big Ten (7th East)
Final 2023 Ranking: Unranked
Returning Starters: 9 (4 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist)
Last Bowl Appearance: 2020 (Outback Bowl vs. Ole Miss, L 26-20)
Preview
Indiana won 11 Big Ten games over a two-year stretch from 2019-20 alone, appearing to finally break through under head coach Tom Allen after years of being oh-so-close. In the three years since then, though, the Hoosiers have notched just nine total victories, and Allen was fired following a 3-9 campaign in 2023. Indiana hadn’t finished better than .500 in conference play since 1993 before Allen did so two-straight seasons, but it was time to move on with the program in decline.
As college football enters a new era, including with an 18-team Big Ten, Indiana has a new head coach in Curt Cignetti who’s injecting some life into the Hoosiers’ program, which hasn’t won a conference crown since sharing it in 1967.
Cignetti has been intense on the recruiting trail, and he’s created momentum despite Indiana’s dismal recent history on the field. He’s been able to sell his own individual success in the past, with the 62-year-old possessing a 119-35 record as a college head coach. Most recently, he helped James Madison successfully transition from the FCS to FBS, with the Dukes posting a 19-4 record since elevating to the highest level of intercollegiate football.
“It’s pretty simple: I win. Google me,” Cignetti famously said at a press conference after being hired, discussing his pitch to prospective Indiana student-athletes.
Indiana has reeled in more than two dozen transfers, including 12 from James Madison, ahead of the 2023 campaign. He brought some of the most talented Dukes with him, including four who earned All-Sun Belt honors a year ago in senior tight end Zach Horton (first team), junior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (first), redshirt senior offensive guard Tyler Stephens (second) and junior linebacker Aiden Fisher (third).
Offense is Cignetti’s calling card, and that unit may have some juice to it in his first season in Bloomington.
Senior wideout Donaven McCulley led the team with 48 catches for 644 yards and 6 scores last season, and he decided to return after testing the transfer portal waters. The quarterback situation is all but settled with 2023 starter Brendan Sorsby transferring to Cincinnati this spring and Ohio graduate transfer Kurtis Rourke standing atop the depth chart. He made 33 starts over five seasons in Athens and was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
There’s nowhere to go but up after averaging 22.2 points per game a year ago, with no explosiveness (only 13 plays of 30-plus yards). The same goes for the defense, which allowed 29.9 points per contest, forced only 13 turnovers and allowed opponents to score touchdowns on 62.2 percent of their red-zone appearances.
New defensive coordinator Bryant Haines , who’s been with Cignetti at all four of his head coaching stops, was a 2023 Broyles Award semifinalist — and he’ll look to get the most out of a group with lots of question marks. Only five starters are back, and four of the top five tacklers have departed.
Redshirt senior linebacker Lanell Carr Jr. (8.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks) is one of the top players on defense. He and Fisher, who accumulated 108 tackles with James Madison last year, can make up a stout linebacker corps. Defensive tackle also looks like a potential strong spot, with the Hoosiers beating out Michigan and others for Kent State graduate transfer CJ West , who recorded 7 tackles for loss in the MAC last season.
Reasons for optimism
• Excitement under new coach Curt Cignetti
• Playmaking on offense
• Transfers mean fresh blood
While it means there’s uncertainty, having a lot of transfers come in rather than returning a bunch of starters from a bad team means Indiana will have a good chance to improve. Cignetti made some nice lands in the portal and has created a buzz around the program.
Reasons for concern
• Lack of proven talent defensively
• Relying on many JMU transfers
• Pass defense
It’s hard to rebuild a program in such short order, even with the transfer portal as a resource. Cignetti won with his guys at James Madison, but the new-look Big Ten is a major step up from the Sun Belt.
Returning leaders
Passing: Tayven Jackson (914 yards, 2 TD)
Rushing: None
Receiving: Donaven McCulley (644 yards, 6 TD)
Tackles: Jacob Mangum-Farrar (62)
Sacks: Lanell Carr Jr. (5)
Interceptions: Josh Sanguinetti (2)
Michigan-Indiana early score prediction
Michigan went to overtime at Indiana in 2015 and 2017, gutting out wins each time (including in triple overtime in ’15), lost in Bloomington in 2020 and were tied 10-10 at halftime in 2022. Things can get weird and tricky for the Maize and Blue in Monroe County, Ind.
Indiana should have some life this season, too, after three-straight dismal campaigns under Allen, and there’s excitement amongst the fan base coming into the year. The Hoosiers actually have a somewhat favorable schedule before this game, too (they play Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue in mid-late November, after seeing Michigan State Nov. 2). So a bowl bid could be on the line.
Michigan should empty the tank heading into its second bye week, though. The Wolverines will win this one going away.
Prediction: Michigan 38, Indiana 9
The post Michigan football opponent preview, early score prediction: Indiana appeared first on On3 .
Most Popular
Comments / 0