IU to play Michigan

For the second time in two weeks, IU will travel to the Great Lake State for a conference matchup.

IU will go to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan as the Wolverines look to recover from a 43-40 loss in quadruple overtime at Penn State last week.

The Hoosiers (3-3, 1-1) haven’t faced Michigan (5-1, 1-1) since 2010, and none of the players currently on IU’s roster have played at Michigan Stadium.

Michigan has historically been a challenging opponent for IU on paper.

IU is 9-52 all-time against the Wolverines, and the team’s last win came almost 26
years ago to the day of Saturday’s matchup.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said the Michigan football program is as good as any in the country.

“It is a quality program, tradition, team, talent, facilities, coaching,” he said. “It’s a great challenge, great opportunity, and look forward to this week for our kids working with it.”

Similar to Wilson, Michigan Coach Brady Hoke began his Big Ten coaching career in 2011.

The Wolverines are 24-8 under Hoke, and Michigan has not lost at home since his arrival.

“To play on the road and to win on the road is difficult,” Wilson said.

Dealing with the road atmosphere won’t be the only challenge the Hoosiers will face at
the Big House.

Michigan junior quarterback Devin Gardner is a dual-threat player under center who
has averaged almost 300 all-purpose yards per game this season.

“He’s not truly a running quarterback,” Wilson said. “He’s a guy that would just pick his spots. They do some designed quarterback run but not a lot.”

The Wolverines are a run-first offense, rushing the ball on almost 63 percent of their snaps.

Mallory said allowing explosive plays is holding the Hoosiers back from playing good defense.

Michigan State rushed for a combined 103 yards on three separate carries last Saturday.

Wilson said Michigan looks to run the ball 35 to 50 times per game and complement its rushing attack with 25 to 30 pass attempts.

“Two good players with receiver Jeremy Gallon and their tight end Funchess, a really good mismatch and a very good receiving tight end,” Wilson said.

He said when defenses cover Gallon and Funchess, they don’t cover Gardner.

“He has a nice knack of going through progression one and two and scrambling out and getting five and six and eight yards, extending plays,” Wilson said.

Gardner’s ability to escape the pocket could be problematic for an IU defense that allowed Michigan State to convert a first down on 10 of its 14 third down plays last weekend.

“If you cannot get off the field on third down with as many opportunities as we had, you don’t have a chance to be successful,” Mallory said. “Those are the things we’re trying to get corrected.”

Wilson said facing Michigan’s offense will be a challenge and an opportunity that the Hoosiers anticipate.

“It’s obvious from last game we’ve got to keep making defensive strides, consistency,” Wilson said.