There was a time when people thought the Michigan Wolverines were nigh unbeatable. Those days are now over thanks to getting manhandled by Michigan State last week. This Saturday, it was the Indiana Hoosiers who were trying their best to not only prove that the Wolverines are not only human but not even one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season.

Indiana was uniquely suited to try and show Michigan isn’t what people thought they were going to be coming into the season. The Hoosiers gave the Ohio State Buckeyes all they could handle earlier in the year before they ran out of steam.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers came within one play of at least going to a second overtime but fell just short as they had a pass intercepted in the end zone on 4th and goal down 27-20. Because this was overtime, that was officially the end of the game and Michigan outlasted another team that wanted to take them down.

Michigan Wolverines struggling despite victories

Despite the win over Indiana, there is very little bout that the Wolverines are not the juggernaut they’ve looked like in the last few years. Despite being 5-1 on the season, they’ve looked human against almost every team they’ve played this year. Rather than dominating, they’ve been pushed to the limit before finally outlasting most of their opponents.

The biggest problem for the team on Saturday has been the biggest problem since the season kicked off. The Wolverines don’t seem to be able to land on a quarterback. At least not a quarterback that can lead the offense on a consistent level.

Against the Hoosiers, Michigan’s John O’Korn was a complete non-factor, completing just 10 of 20 passes for a minuscule 58 yards.

Luckily for the Wolverines, running back Karan Higdon picked up the slack, carrying the ball 25 times for a whopping 200 yards and three touchdowns. Those stats include a 25 yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime to give Michigan the eventual win.

Indiana has offensive woes as well

On the other side of the field, an Indiana offense that had been pretty good for most of the season, was shut down for much of the game.

The biggest culprit, when it came to underperformers was wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr.

Cobbs finished the game against the Wolverines with just four catches for 39 yards. By contrast, Cobbs hauled down 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State earlier in the year. Just last week, the Hoosier star had 10 catches for 98 yards.

With the victory, Michigan stays within shouting distance of the Big Ten East division lead at 2-1 in conference. Indiana lost its third straight conference game to fall to 0-3 on the year in the Big Ten.
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