Michigan Football: Rantin' and Ravin' About the Wolverines' Win Over Indiana

Rants:

The 480 passing yards the defense allowed to Indiana.  Ouch.

The botched snap on the Indiana 1 yard line.  Michigan would've gone up 21-7 at this point in the game.

The refs.  I'm not sure what it is about Michigan, but it seems like they get a lot of shoddy calls against them.  The refs single-handedly kept one of Indiana's drives alive because of a couple bad calls.  This drive resulted in a Hoosier touch down.

The offense post-Denard's injury.  After Denard went out (for a couple plays), his effectiveness dropped significantly and Indiana forced four Michigan punts right in a row.

The end zone fight instigated by Taylor Lewan.  Kid needs to control himself.

The time of possession.  Indiana absolutely owned the clock. 41:47 for IU and only 18:13 for Michigan—yikes!

Lack of a RB (who is not named Denard).  Vincent Smith had a few nice carries, but there still isn't an established back.

Indiana's fans.  They cheered when Denard went down with an apparent injury.  Cheered!  I was so offended when I heard them.  Also, they could be heard chanting "Break his legs" earlier in the game.  Absolutely pathetic.

The 35 first downs conceded to IU (while only getting 15 ourselves).

Michigan's failed third down conversions.

Raves:

Denard Robinson's 200-plus yards (277) passing and 200-plus yards (217) rushing.

Denard Robinson's two-minute drill [really, a 1:15 drill] for the game-winning touchdown.

Junior Hemmingway's 42 yard reception with 24 seconds left.

Receiver play continues to wow.  Junior Hemmingway had 3 receptions for 129 yards (43 ypa) for a TD.  Roy Roundtree had 5 catches for 126 yards (25.2 ypa) for a TD.  Hemmingway had a 70 yard reception and Roundtree had a 74 yard reception.

Michigan's big-play capability [see Denard's 73 yard TD run, and the two long passes previously mentioned].

Michigan forced Chappell's first INT in 136 passes.

Robinson averaged 17.3 yards per attempt while rushing.

Robinson's three passing TDs.

The offensive line.  They did stellar protecting Robinson and continued to get the job done.

Michigan's run defense—Indiana was usually stuffed at the line.  This definitely could be because Indiana rushed only 34 percent of the time (34 rush plays compared to 64 pass plays).  They managed 2.6 yards per carry.

What does it all mean?

Well, we got pretty much what we all thought.  The shootout everyone was predicting, Ben Chappell's eye-popping pass numbers (and completions and attempts), Denard Robinson's heroics and Heisman-trophy headlines, Indiana's failure to establish a run game, etc.

The good news:  Michigan's secondary was absolutely torched for 480 yards, but Michigan still made it out with a win.  I saw the whole game, and for the most part, Michigan covered the receivers very well—Chappell just had a great touch, and Indiana's receivers are among the best in the country.  I do think the Hoosiers have the potential to make it to a bowl game.

Chappell is one of the best passers in the country, and I don't think Michigan's secondary will have to face anyone else that good (luckily for the young secondary, Dan Persa and Northwestern are off of Michigan's schedule this year).

Denard has now been injured in all 5 games, but he continues to get right back in the action (of course, except against BGSU, where he wasn't needed as the Wolverines dispatched the Falcons in easy fashion). 

While it's concerning, I expect it happens to many players—they just aren't in the national spotlight like Robinson is, so it goes unnoticed.  As long as he keeps springing back up, we'll be okay.  The offense did nothing when Forcier was in, granted, he only got a play or two.

The refs continue to absolutely kill Michigan.  I'm not sure why, but it's something I've noticed.  I highly doubt Michigan is actually playing football like that.  A few weak personal fouls, and a couple roughing the passer calls that were marginally-acceptable, at best.  It's fine to call fouls, but it'd be nice if the zebras would call them both ways.

Indiana fans are the worst fans in the Big Ten.  I seriously hope there is some sort of retribution (though I doubt it) for the fans cheering after Denard's injury.  I don't care which player of which team is down, behavior like that is the very definition of unsportsmanlike and completely inappropriate.  Couple that with a large enough section of people chanting "Break His Legs" that was audible on television on ESPNU.

Probably the most important take-away message is that the stage for next week is set, and it's going to be one of the best Michigan vs. Michigan State games in the history of the series.  Also, don't be surprised if State comes in the favorite after their solid 34-24 showing against the No. 11 Badgers.

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Michigan vs. Michigan State in Ann Arbor