Indiana*: The Second Scariest CFB Team With a Losing Record

Submitted by Caesar on

You'll look at Indiana and dismiss them a bit. They couldn't win in conference play, including a loss to a Rutgers team that Michigan beat in the first quarter. Wins against titans like Wake, Western Kentucky, and Southern Illinois aren't too inspiring.

Alas. 40% of those losses come to undefeated teams that Indy played very close. I watched the loss to Michigan State, and though it appears lopsided, and it was in upset territory until the last 5 minutes or so. With games against Maryland and Purdue, Michigan could very well be playing a bowl-eligeable team this week.

There is a can full of expletives, none of them joyful, and I fear it will be opened on Michigan. With Penn State and The Game just after, I find myself concerned. 

WHAT SAY YOU?

* Thanks to several folks for the correction!

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bluebyyou

November 9th, 2015 at 4:47 AM ^

That's why you play the game. If you do things right, you prepare and play as if each opponent is the number one team in the country.  When you don't respect a lowly ranked opponent, you get upset.

One of the reasons why Harbaugh makes the big bucks is his ability to get his players motivated against teams that you should beat.

 

 

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UM Fan from Sydney

November 9th, 2015 at 8:37 AM ^

Exactly. A prime example is our game against Akron that we almost lost. Also, I'm not saying Brady is a very good coach. He is average to below average, but the lack of preparation for that game is a perfect example as to why teams should always prepare for every opponent as if they're an excellent team.

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Danwillhor

November 9th, 2015 at 5:01 AM ^

I think they are a team to take seriously when you aren't especially great on offense yourself. If you have a bad day on offense and aren't that great even on an average day you need to watch out. Indiana seems like they can score points but tend to allow even more. We can't sleep walk to victory, IMO. We're not that good offensively. Rudock can't have anymore bad games, the run game needs to wake up, etc. Not just for Indiana but the remainder as we were very likely gifted an opportunity with the msu-neb game. We still need help so we can't afford to overlook anyone.

Joined: 12/02/2008

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jabberwock

November 9th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^

& sums up my thoughts pretty well.

Indiana is a high scoring team, primarily through the air.

Our secondary consists of average, to lights-out stars.  advantage even.

Our linebackers are at their worst in coverage.  advantage Indiana

Our front 4-7 will stop anything resembling a run game in it's tracks and they may get negative yardage on the ground.   They will also put immense pressure on their QB to throw quickly before eating turf.  big advantage Michigan.

Our offense can be shaky at best some days, but they have such a shitty D that it won't take 30+ points to beat them.

They'll get yards, they'll get points.  I think the closest this game gets is 21-17 Michigan, with 30-13 more realistic.

Joined: 07/04/2008

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Eskimoan

November 9th, 2015 at 5:09 AM ^

Indy is Indianapolis, but as to your question, I do believe IU can be dangerous. Am I concerned? meh, I don't think Harbaugh will let this team take a game off no matter who we play

Joined: 12/11/2011

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billybrown

November 9th, 2015 at 5:23 AM ^

Concern is mild at best. They'll score and maybe have a few big plays. As long as there isn't a massive turn over meltdown Michigan should be able to score as easily as they did against Rutgers. I'm seeing a 45-24 final score.

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xtramelanin

November 9th, 2015 at 5:35 AM ^

indy played both ohio and msu tight until later in the game and both were on the road.  they have a far better offense than rutgers. and though we played well saturday, we had two consecutive nail-biters before that against teams 'we' thought we were going to beat by a zillion.  college sports don't easily fall into the transitive principal given their widely varying performance marks, and we are playing indy on the road.

do i think we'll win?  of course.  do i think we need to be careful of a 'trap' game or a game where indy finally plays 4 quarters where they make most of their passes, get a few calls, and find a turnover or two?  absolutely.   JH won't let us look past them, but don't be so sure we're going to curbstomp them. 

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rob f

November 9th, 2015 at 6:16 AM ^

scares me.  OTOH, the IU defense doesn't scare anyone.

Overall, the IU team lacks depth; the coaching of the offensive side of the ball is good but lacks the talent to make the team good enough to overcome that lack of depth and their porous defense.

My fear level is 4, and that is somewhat due to this being a road game with bigger-name opponents on the horizon.

 

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Goggles Paisano

November 9th, 2015 at 6:19 AM ^

They learned a lesson at Minny. I don't think they will take Ind lightly at all. Another thing with Indiana is that they don't have the depth of an upper tier B1G team. I would think they would be a bit beat up at this point in the season. Unlikely they have the same horsepower this Saturday that they had earlier in the season against osu.  In other words, this game does not concern me. The PSU game will be a much greater challenge.   

Joined: 07/30/2011

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UMForLife

November 9th, 2015 at 6:31 AM ^

Their strength is our strength. Our CBs can be had on a few plays because they play aggressive. Our LBs are not world beaters. But this is still a really good defense. They will control the line of scrimmage and eventually force their will in the 3rd quarter. On the other side of the ball, I see this Indiana defense no better than anyone else we played, including UNLV. We were able to put up points on all the defenses we played so far, including MSU, NU, MN. The only way we can lose this game is if we turnover the ball 4 or 5 times. I don't see that happening as we will keep it on the ground most of the day. So, my fear level is 3 because it is on the road. I would have given 1 to Rutgers.

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blueball97

November 9th, 2015 at 6:44 AM ^

There is a reason they are sub .500. Not to be taken lightly, but Michigan rolls. A lot on the line in each game, we control our own fate now. Win out, a date with Iowa in Indianapolis



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readyourguard

November 9th, 2015 at 6:57 AM ^

they played Iowa pretty tough this past Saturday, losing by a TD. If they get us on our heels or exploit our LBs and Safeties, it'll be too close for comfort. These football 3 games are all too close to call. 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3. Check your bourbon, beer, and Mylanta supply.

Joined: 08/21/2008

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SC Wolverine

November 9th, 2015 at 7:29 AM ^

Well, they are certainly going to exploit our linebackers and safeties.  Everybody is going to do that now, since those are the only vulnerabilities of our defense.  We can expect some blows in every game to Morgan and Hill in coverage.  But it shouldn't be anywhere near enough to counter how many we score on them.  I think they'll get 20 points on us, which is pretty alarming.  But we shoyuld be the 40's easily.

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MChem83

November 9th, 2015 at 7:01 AM ^

But their YPG average is better than Ohio State, Michigan State, Stanford, Alabama, LSU and Florida State.

We will probably need to score at least 40 to win.  Our defense will do well to hold them under 30.  It is a very losable game...

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MChem83

November 9th, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^

When Harbaugh has beaten State 7 out of 9, and won four straight bowl games, then maybe you can talk about his being close to as good as Dantonio. Harbaugh has yet to be relevant, or to win a single game that matters at Michigan. He has a very long way to go and a lot to prove before you can talk about Harbaugh in the same breath as Dantonio as a college coach.

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