No. 6 Indiana vs. Michigan Picks, Predictions & Preview for Big Noon Showdown

Indiana heads to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Saturday afternoon, with Big Noon Kickoff taking place inside the Big House.

The Hoosiers are fresh off their loss to Ohio State in a game where I thought they played relatively out of character for this football team.

Execution wasn’t nearly as good as what we’re used to seeing from Indiana. There were turnovers, missed protection assignments, personal fouls and false starts. Those aren’t things this football team usually does.

Not to mention the Nick Marsh play at the end. I feel like that’s a play this team has made for the last two and a half years, starting quarterback be damned.

Even when Kurtis Rourke was in there, they didn’t really beat themselves. They didn’t miss opportunities to beat you. And I feel like that’s what happened a little bit last week.

Michigan, meanwhile, has named Tommy Carr its starting quarterback for Saturday’s matchup.

Carr had a really solid second half against Penn State a week ago. The Wolverines were scoreless in the first half with Bryce Underwood, who threw two interceptions.

Then Carr came in for the second half, didn’t turn the ball over, and Michigan scored 21 points in the second half alone.

He totally changed the output and the outcome of that offense.

Can Michigan’s Defense Slow Down Indiana?

Michigan has dudes, man.

This Michigan defense is not something to scoff at. They’re one of the better ones in college football right now, and they’ve got a really good defensive back corps.

When you play Indiana, stopping the run is all fine and dandy. You’ve still got to deny the ball outside the numbers.

And you’ve got to do something that nobody has really done to Charlie Becker right now, which is force him not to catch the football on back-shoulder fades.

I don’t know who’s going to be the guy to do it, but nobody has really done it to this point.

That is the ultimate stopping point when it comes to Indiana football.

Indiana couldn’t really run the ball against Ohio State, either. I thought that had a lot more to do with what Ohio State has up front.

But Michigan certainly isn’t a slouch of a defense.

Against their last two quality opponents, Nebraska and Ohio State, Indiana hasn’t been able to run the ball efficiently.

And I would argue that Michigan is just as quality, maybe the second-best defense they’ve played behind Ohio State.

When Indiana can’t run the ball, it gets put into a lot of third-and-passing situations.

The Hoosiers don’t really have that pro-style, three-step dropback passing game. That’s not what they’ve been known for since Curt Cignetti took over.

That’s something I’m really interested in watching in this matchup.

Michigan X-Factor: Tommy Carr

My X-factor is obviously Tommy Carr.

With him being named the starter, how does he handle that Indiana defense?

Say what you want about Indiana’s offense right now, but this defense is still this defense.

This defensive line is still really elite. They win with a lot of athleticism, a lot of chaos, and they put a lot of pressure on your automatic passing plays.

You’re going to get into a lot of third-and-eights and third-and-nines against this group.

Especially without what Bryce Underwood provided, which was a lot of quarterback run game, I think you’re going to see that dissipate a little bit with Carr.

But perhaps he can actually do some work in the passing game and get Michigan into some manageable third downs.

Maybe he can get them into some first-and-10 situations where they can use dropback passing attempts.

Maybe throw a little changeup into the mix with their offensive tendencies.

That’s going to be interesting to watch with Carr making his first start against this Indiana defense.

Indiana vs. Michigan Prediction

I think it’s going to be an absolute rock fight.

We’re looking at another 20-13 or 20-17 type football game.

My official prediction is Indiana 20-13.