For this entire week, I've been referring to Indiana's upcoming matchup at Michigan as a "Clash of Conference Leaders!" just because given the state of IU football, it feels really good to say that. The Hoosiers may be an underwhelming 3-0 (wins over Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Akron), but just entering the Big Ten season unbeaten is a rarity for this program.
When spanning the long history of Indiana football, it's hard to find many post-Korean War wins of great magnitude, especially against powerhouse Michigan. IU hasn't won in Ann Arbor since 1967, and hasn't beaten the Wolverines anywhere since a 14-10 win in Bloomington during the 1987 season. That year is the only time in school history, that Indiana defeated both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season (hard to believe).
The opening line has the Hoosiers getting 21 points - if they're able to cover that, or even play Michigan within 10-14 points, then the trip will be a success. A win on Saturday is unecessary and frankly unrealisitc for this Indiana team, but they have a chance to prove that they're not a conference lightweight.
A close loss (moral victory?) to a ranked opponent on the road should give IU confidence going to hopeless Virginia, and then at home against Ohio State in the most critical three-game stretch of the entire season. If the Hoosiers can survive this stretch, even at 1-2 as long as they hang with Michigan and Ohio State, then their bowl hopes are more than just a pipe dream.
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Dude, the game just ended. I'm pissed because they almost won. I blame this blog post for the defeat ;)
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