Hoosiers Now

Indiana Football Week 6: Michigan Players to Watch, Jim Harbaugh's Comments

Indiana football (3-2) hosts No. 4 Michigan (5-0) on Saturday at Noon ET. Here's what coach Jim Harbaugh said about this Week 6 matchup, as well as key players to watch in this game.

Jack Ankony

In this story:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana defensive coordinator Chad Wilt constantly used the words "effective and efficient" to describe the Michigan offense that comes to Bloomington for Saturday's Noon ET kickoff. 

In their quest to return to the College Football Playoff, Michigan is off to a 5-0 start with a handful of dominant wins. The Wolverines defeated Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn by an average of 49.7 points. Michigan fought off a strong effort from Maryland in a 34-27 win, and the Wolverines got out to a 20-0 lead to stomp Iowa last weekend in Iowa City.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy has led Michigan to 45.4 points per game, the sixth-highest mark among FBS teams. McCarthy's passing totals don't jump off the page – 848 yards and six touchdowns both rank 12th among Big Ten quarterbacks – but he's been efficient as any quarterback in the nation.

McCarthy leads all FBS quarterbacks with a 78.6 completion percentage, and he hasn't thrown an interception all year. McCarthy's 186.9 passer rating ranks fifth in the country, and his 82.3 total quarterback rating is 12th, according to ESPN. Michigan won't call designed runs for McCarthy often, if at all, but he has a knack for avoiding pressure in the pocket. 

Just watch this highlight against Maryland.

Or this touchdown pass against Iowa.

McCarthy spreads the ball around to a trio of wide receivers in Ronnie Bell, Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, each totaling over 100 yards this season. Tight end Luke Schoonmaker scored two touchdowns against Indiana last season, and he's second on the team with 14 receptions, leading to 162 yards and a touchdown.

Despite how impressive McCarthy has been in his first year as the Wolverines' starter, the run game is the backbone of their offense. Blake Corum took ownership of lead-back duties after the departure of 1,300-yard rusher Hassan Haskins, and he's powered Michigan to the 13th-most rushing yards of any FBS team this season.

Corum's 611 rushing yards rank fourth in nation, and he's accomplished that on at least 17 fewer attempts than the top-three rushers. Corum is averaging 6.6 yards per carry, and he leads the country with 10 rushing touchdowns. Michigan's offensive line it's an experienced group, and it controlled the line of scrimmage last week at Iowa in its first game at full strength.

Michigan's biggest losses from last year's team come on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, and linebacker David Ojabo and defensive back Dax Hill, both first-team All-Big Ten players, also left for the NFL. But so far, the Michigan defense is allowing just 11.6 points per game. 

The Wolverines held Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa well below his season average with 207 passing yards, two interceptions and one touchdown pass. Last week, Iowa averaged just 1.5 yards per carry. 

Sophomore linebacker Junior Colson is leading the team with 37 total tackles, and senior defensive end Mike Morris already has four sacks and six tackles for loss. The 6-foot-3, 337-pound Mazi Smith clogs up the running lanes at nose tackle, and Mason Graham has proven to be a force as a true freshman alongside Smith. 

Mike Sainristill played wide receiver his first three years at Michigan, but he made the switch to defensive back for his senior year. Through five games, he has two sacks and four tackles for loss. Senior defensive back DJ Turner had a diving interception against Maryland and a scoop-and-score touchdown in Michigan's win over Colorado State. 

Michigan's defense is near the top of the Big Ten in most defensive categories, rankings third in points allowed (11.6), third in total yards allowed (252), fifth in rushing yard allowed (94.2), third in passing yards allowed (157.8), second in sacks (15), 11th in interceptions (3) and seventh in opponent third down conversion percentage (30.4).

Here's what Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said about Indiana.

On what he's seen from the Indiana offense:

Harbaugh: They're throwing the ball really well. Throwing it a lot, 240 or 250 pass attempts, eight touchdowns. They trust him to throw the ball. Really good receivers, and the running backs you've just got – they're throwing it more than they're running it, so I don't know exactly what his average is, but a challenge from the passing game and the running game. He's a big, tall guy that can make all the throws to all parts of the field, and he's not afraid to let it rip. Eight touchdown passes, he's having a good start to the season.

On the idea of a trap game before playing No. 10 Penn State next week:

Harbaugh: Just attacking the day, really. We know it will be a big challenge. IU is a darn good football team, always played us tough and good. Similar to Iowa, I have a ton of respect for how they play. I consider them a blue-collar team that always has a lot of talented guys and is really well-coached. We're going to have to play good. It's always going to come down to that. Whatever tag you put on a game, it comes down to if you play good and coach good and make sure that we're prepared good. All the teams we play – this week, next week, every week after –we play good, we have a really good chance at winning. We don't play good and we got a really good chance of getting beat.  

Related stories on Indiana football:

  • AJ BARNER, JAYLIN WILLIAMS JOIN PODCAST: On Wednesday's Episode 6 of the Hoosier Roundtable Podcast, Indiana tight end AJ Barner and defensive back Jaylin Williams preview the Hoosiers' homecoming matchup versus undefeated No. 4-ranked Michigan and recap Indiana's loss to Nebraska. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA TO INCREASE JAYLIN LUCAS' ROLE Jaylin Lucas' electric 34-yard run against Nebraska confirmed the hype he generated in fall camp. And now, Indiana coaches Tom Allen, Walt Bell and Craig Johnson are making it a priority to get Lucas the ball moving forward. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA WEEK 6 DEPTH CHART, INJURY NOTES: Indiana (3-2) plays No. 4 Michigan (5-0) on Saturday in a Noon ET kickoff from Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. Here's Indiana's Week 6 depth chart, as well as a few injury notes. CLICK HERE
Published
Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

Home/Football