My Two Cents: Roles Reversed For Once-Mighty Michigan In 20-15 Loss at Indiana

Michigan almost never loses to Indiana in football, but they did Saturday night, falling 20-15. The Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time ever, and the Wolverines are 5-5 and struggling just to get bowl eligible a year after winning a national championship. A complete role reversal for these two programs for sure.

Michigan quarterback Davis Warren (16) looks to throw as Indiana defensive lineman CJ West (8) closes in Saturday in Bloomington. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sure, the names change for the players and the coaches. But this is Michigan football, the winningest program in the history of the sport.

And now, after losing 20-15 at Indiana — the losingest program in college football history — on Saturday night, they are now just 5-5 on the season, just a few months after winning a national title.

They aren't even bowl eligible yet, with games against Northwestern and at Ohio State left on their schedule after a bye week. It's a massive role reversal for these two programs. Indiana is 10-0 for the first time ever. Michigan looks lost, like Indiana usually is.

The switch has been flipped. Michigan says they aren't going to lower their standard — even though it sure looks like they have. Five losses after only losing once in three years in the regular season? That's a mammoth failure, despite losing a close game on national television.

“Every year we’re going to expect the same standard, and we’re going to go out there and try to beat it. We’re Michigan, and we’re going to fight to get better,'' Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. "The loss column, it is what it is. Nobody likes it. We hate it. Those guys are hurting more than anyone in the world and it’s our job as coaches to lift them up and make sure they’re in the right place. Same with the coaches. We’re going to strive to be great.''

They're nowhere close to that right now. They couldn't run the ball against Indiana, gaining just 69 yards on 34 carries, a 2.03 yards per carry average. Quarterback Davis Warren was just 16-for-32 for 137 yards and was wild on several throws, especially under pressure. They had to settle for field goals on two red zones trips, too.

“At the end of the day you have to execute (in those red zone situations) and we didn’t execute at a high level,'' Moore said. "There were some twists and movements and zone runs that we didn’t pick up. It was one guy here and one guy there (that we didn’t handle) and that was really the story. We have to be better.

“It starts up front (with the Indiana defense) and they’ve got guys that hold the point really well. I thought we got some rhythm going in the throw game, but we never got any rhythm in the run game, and that was the story right there. They’ve got a really good pass rusher, No. 6 (Mikail Kamara) who’s leading the league in pressures and sacks and he did a good job with their scheme.’’

Michigan has lost five times already this year — they had only lost three times TOTAL the past three years, and just once in the regular season — and there's been some thumpings in there, too, in 2024. They lost to Texas 31-12, to Washington 27-17, to Illinois 21-7 and to Oregon 38-17. Before Saturday's five-point loss, they were losing games by an average of 16.0 points per game.

What a rapid departure from the past three years, where they lost only one regular season game, 37-33 at Michigan State way back on Oct. 30, 2021.

Michigan had their chances to win — plenty of them. Indiana's high-flying offense was non-existent in the second half after building a 17-3 lead. They had an interception and four straight punts on their first five second-half possessions, running just 15 plays for minus-6 yards. Michigan kicked field goals to make it 17-9, then scored a touchdown and went for two to tie the game with 9:35 left, but the conversion failed. Indiana kicked a late field goal to ice it.

“I thought (the Michigan defense) really played well in the second half, did an unbelievable job, and the fight and effort was there,'' Moore said. "That (Indiana) offense was averaging 40-something points a game, and to hold them to 20 points was huge. We only gave them (18) yards in the second half. That was really good to see.''

It's a strange world when the best and worst in college football history have switched roles for a season. Indiana was a 14.5-point favorite in this game, which was an insult to Michigan players. It's the first time the Hoosiers were favored against the Wolverines in 42 games dating all the way back to 1968.

But now here is little ol' Indiana, at 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten. They fighting for a Big Ten title and a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Michigan is 5-5 and just hoping to get bowl eligible. To a man, Moore and his Michigan players say that does matter. They aren't packing it in, despite the five losses, the first time that's happened since 2017.

‘’Yeah, 100 percent, we want to have the time to play another game together,'' Moore said. "(Getting bowl eligible) is a motivating factor, but it’s all about just going and getting a win.’’ 

Related stories on Indiana football

• INDIANA BEATS MICHIGAN: Indiana had its lowest scoring game of the season but made enough plays in critical situations to grind out a 20-15 win over Michigan Saturday at Memorial Stadium. CLICK HERE

• TODD'S TAKE: Did you get a bit scared during a rare close game for the Hoosiers? Fear not, the Indiana defense has got this. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Here's everything Cignetti said to the media after the Michigan win. CLICK HERE

• LIVE BLOG: Follow along as Hoosiers On SI writes about the events of the game as they happened. Re-live Indiana's thrilling 20-15 victory over Michigan. CLICK HERE.

• DREW EVANS OUT FOR SEASON: Indiana has lost guard Drew Evans for the season according to the availability report for the Indiana-Michigan game on Saturday. CLICK HERE.

• IT'S STILL A BIG DEAL TO BEAT ONE OF THE BIG TWO: Todd Golden opines that beating Michigan, regardless of the state of the programs, is still a big deal. CLICK HERE.