Somehow no one was happy

In all reality, I should be running through the Arboretum naked right now. \nThat's the promise that I made, should IU have beaten the Wolverines at the Big House on Saturday. And if you looked at the faces of any Michigan fan leaving the game, you would have sworn they had just seen the demise of their team.\nThat wasn't the case, as they had just witnessed a 31-17 Michigan victory. But they all seemed to have the same sinking feeling of, "Any other team would have beaten us."\nSo are the Hoosiers to look at this game as a bitter loss, or as a moral victory? It's both. Like cough medicine, it doesn't taste very good going down, but the results could make IU better in the long run. \nThe Good \nThe point spread coming into this game was Michigan by 35.5. Not only did they not come close to covering, but they didn't even score that many points. And while they did score 31, it belies the effort of the IU defense. They managed to hold the potent Wolverine offense to two touchdowns and a field goal. They also forced four turnovers in the first half. This brings us to …\nThe Bad\nIn spite of these turnovers, the Hoosiers were trailing 24-0 at halftime. Offense and special teams helped put them in this hole. A special teams breakdown allowed Michigan's first touchdown, as "The Crocodile Punter" Tyson Beattie, kicked his worst punt of an otherwise solid year -- a low line drive that was easily returned for a score by sophomore Steve Breaston.\n"It was like 2.1 seconds hang time," coach Gerry DiNardo said. "It's hard to cover a guy like that on a low punt."\nThen there's the fact that the offense was unable to put the ball in the end zone when they needed to. For the third time in the past two games, IU had a possession that started on the opponents' side of the field that did not result in a touchdown.\nMichigan also scored a defensive touchdown when Jeremy LeSueur intercepted a Matt LoVecchio pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.\nLoVecchio showed some leadership and was perfectly frank about the offensive performance.\n"The defense played well enough to win the game, the offense didn't," LoVecchio said. "We lost the ball game."\nThe Promising \nYou probably thought I would call this "The Ugly." Wrong. I can't use clichés all the time. But the truth is, the Hoosiers showed us some reason to be optimistic in the future. The offense looked good on the first possession of the second half, with a methodic 19-play, 72-yard drive that ate nearly nine minutes off the clock. Unfortunately, it fizzled out at the 4-yard line, and they settled for a field goal. But at least we saw that they could be capable of controlling the tempo, as they did in the second half.\nAnd the MVP of the game was IU's defense. While people who just read the scores will assume that IU was lit up defensively two weeks in a row, the amount of points that they have given up are deceiving. This unit, which only starts two seniors, continues to improve each week. Next year, defensive coordinator Tim Kish's squad will be a tough one to move the ball on.\nThe Big House \nEven though I despised Michigan growing up, I have to admit that Michigan Stadium is one of the most magical venues in which to watch a college football game. Even though more than 110,000 fans crowd into the stands, everything feels close to the field. There are no massive acres of parking lots. You can find plenty of parking in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. After parking at least a mile away from UConn's home field, parking in a driveway that was no more than a minute walk from the stadium was a treat.\nSo if you ever have the chance, do yourself a favor and catch a game at the Big House.