Michigan had lost to Indiana only twice since 1987. The Wolverines lost in ’87 and then you had to fast forward to 2020 to find the second time. But on a lively Saturday in Bloomington in the year 2024, Michigan once again dropped a game to Indiana.

The Wolverines are now 5-5 and need to win one of their next two games to make a bowl game. But things are clearly not looking very good for this Michigan team and the Wolverines are entering their second bye week to prepare for Northwestern and Ohio State.

But after the 20-15 loss to Indiana, here are five of my takeaways.

I think we’re all guilty of this in one way or another, but we’re used to seeing Indiana as the bottom feeder of the Big Ten. Not in 2024. You take off that Indiana name and helmet and just watch this team play on the field – the Playoff committee would have had the Hoosiers higher than No. 8.

And even though IU is a very good football team, Michigan lost the game Saturday – the Hoosiers weren’t buying it. The Wolverines suffered too many self-inflicted wounds and settled for too many field goals in the red zone.

That said, Indiana is really well coached. Curt Cignetti is a mad genius and he has the Hoosiers playing with a chip on their shoulder. Whatever Cignetti is selling there is working wonders, and Michigan’s coaching staff can take a thing or two from what he’s doing in Bloomington.

It’s never easy going against one of the best passing offenses in college football without your star cornerback. Will Johnson missed his third straight game after leaving early against Illinois.

But even without Johnson, the Wolverines’ defense played well enough to win the game. However, it didn’t look good. Indiana threw two scores on two long drives. Kurtis Rourke threw the ball over Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill, who both allowed touchdown catches.

Then Michigan’s defense really stepped up. The Wolverines allowed the following drives after the second touchdown: 42 yards (TO on downs), zero yards (INT), 14 yards (punt), -16 yards (punt), -4 (punt), 16 yards (FG) .

Indiana came into the game allowing seven total sacks, but Michigan’s front was too much for the Hoosiers’ offensive line. The Wolverines sacked Rourke four times and pressured him several more times.

For anyone who wants Wink Martindale fired, Michigan played one of the best offenses in the country very well.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Michigan derailed its own driveways on Saturday. It’s a common theme with this team and Kirk Campbell as offensive coordinator. The Wolverines want to use both Davis Warren and Alex Orji, but the experiment needs to end.

On Michigan’s very first drive, Warren got the Wolverines deep into Indiana territory by completing five passes, but Campbell inexplicably put Orji on the play and got nothing on the ground. He then put Warren back in the game, faced the pressure and fumbled with the ball. Michigan kicked a field goal.

Late in the second quarter, Warren completed a tough third down pass to Tyler Morris, had the ball at midfield and Campbell put Orji back in the game. Orji fumbles with the football and IU recovers, goes down and kicks a field goal.

But it didn’t stop there.

Zeke Berry picked off Rourke in the third quarter and Michigan re-entered Orji on third down. After getting nothing on third down, the Wolverines kicked another field goal.

It’s one thing when Michigan allows Orji to throw the football, but that never happens. Talk about showing your hand every time #10 comes into play.

I attribute most of this to Michigan’s confidence issues in letting the quarterback get into a rhythm and stay in the game. But after completing five passes on the opening drive, Warren completed only two of his next twelve attempts.

Not only did he not connect on his throws, but Warren also missed some wide open throws. On one play, Warren pressed the B button (spin move on an Xbox controller) to escape a pocket, but then shot past two wide-open receivers who were together. That was just one example of what appeared to be a betrayal of his trust. He would later miss Kendrick Bell at third late in the fourth.

Warren finished the game 16-for-32 for 137 yards.

We have no idea what happened to Kalel Mullings, but he seems to be an afterthought in this Michigan offense. For the third game in a row, Donovan Edwards got the start, but that wasn’t a problem, right? Well, sophomore Ben Hall came in and received the backup carries.

Mullings didn’t see the field until halfway through the second quarter. He was not listed on Michigan’s availability report prior to the game. That means it wasn’t listed as DISABLED or questionable. The only carry he got in the first half went for six yards and number 20 was not seen again in the first half.

Mullings did start the second half and Sherrone Moore was asked why he played little in the first half. Moore told the CBS crew that both Donovan Edwards and Ben Hall had practiced better and played better, so they wanted to feed the hot hand. But Hall only had seven total carries for the IU game and his last carry came against Illinois.

He has been the running back for the Wolverines all season, but after gaining just 18 and 16 yards in the previous two games, Mullings could be going down for some strange reason.

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