Indiana outpaces Michigan to reach 10 wins, likely Playoff, and wants more: What is this world?
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana junior receiver Elijah Sarratt, a zero-star recruit as a high schooler in Virginia, figuratively roasted Michigan sophomore cornerback and former four-star recruit Jyaire Hill, leaving him in the open field and cruising under a 36-yard touchdown pass from Kurtis Rourke .
Mikail Kamara, a zero-star recruit from Indiana as a high schooler in Virginia, got between Michigan senior right guard Giovanni El-Hadi and sophomore right tackle Evan Link and right into the face of quarterback Davis Warren. Both Wolverines linemen came out of their prep careers with four stars next to their names, and both were needed to deal with Kamara. Eight stars versus none. Nobody won.
Indiana, the losingest major college football program, defeated Michigan, the winningest, 20-15 on Saturday in front of 53,082 reborn Blacks of November basketball at Memorial Stadium. That’s ten wins for the first time in Indiana history. That’s 11 all-time wins against Michigan in 73 tries. That makes it difficult to imagine a scenario in which first-year coach Curt Cignetti and his Hoosiers are not among the teams selected for the first twelve-team College Football Playoff.
And I swear to you, as sure as Bob Knight could throw out a chair, these people acted like they had to answer for something on Saturday.
“I’m happy we won,” Cignetti said. “I’m not happy with the way we played.”
He said that in a few ways, praising his defense and his team for being “courageous,” and he did so after being asked about the little bit of emotion he showed in the on-field interview with CBS after it ended – while Indiana students stood happily in the stands and didn’t rush onto the field, because apparently beating the defending champions is exactly what they’re doing here right now.
Those few seconds on the field to take it all in, some of the smiles Cignetti shared with family members and friends as he walked past the enormous IU weight room to the press, the fact that nearly two dozen family members and friends were in the audience had gathered… these are the hints of a gigantic moment.
Cignetti and his No. 8 Hoosiers (7-0 Big Ten) weren’t about to say it, not after blowing a 17-3 first-half lead to the disappointing Wolverines (5-5, 3-4) solve in the We need to stop a tying two-point conversion and another UM drive in the fourth quarter, which the IU defense did. Indiana was supposed to topple this Quick Lane Bowl-esque Michigan team, like Indiana has toppled everyone else, and that’s not what happened.
Covered 7-8 Indiana football games. Today’s tailgating scene is at the top all together. Bad photo that doesn’t tell the story. pic.twitter.com/HqmoweWGmm
— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) November 9, 2024
That’s fine, Hoosiers. There’s a Big Ten championship in play. Up next is the game of the season at No. 2 Ohio State after a well-timed week off. So the fact that The Athletics‘s Austin Mock has the Hoosiers at 92 percent to make the Playoff and their regular season finale is against miserable rival Purdue needn’t cause any public gasps. Especially after this version of Michigan beat Indiana in the second half.
But we don’t have to play ball outside the program. We can rub our eyes, shake our heads, and laugh almost uncomfortably at the fact that, as a college football nation, we’re asking in November if these Hoosiers have more than enough to win a national championship.
We wonder how Michigan remained so steadfast against Indiana. We’ll give the Wolverines a nice pat on the back for this, and gee, what if coach Sherrone Moore didn’t waste 31 seconds before taking a late timeout or spend much of the second half looking like he was just trying to avoid a timeout ? outburst? After the press conferences on Saturday, back in the press box, people watched the Alabama-LSU game and talked about how it might affect IU’s playoff draw. like that’s a normal thing to talk about.
Are we upside down? How far from Bloomington is Hawkins, Indiana, the supernatural setting for ‘Stranger Things’?
We may be surprised. We can be fascinated too. Because Indiana football in 2024 reminds us that this sport isn’t all math and science. If it had, the Hoosiers wouldn’t have dominated the game in the first half and searched for answers after a shaky second. They would have raced, like most Indiana teams, against most Michigan teams over the decades.
The 247Sports Team Talent Compositewhich rates rosters based on recruiting rankings, tells us that Michigan, having lost big to last year’s Jim Harbaugh-led natty, is still No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 16 nationally. Indiana is No. 16 in the Big Ten and No. 57 nationally. There is a talent gap between these teams.
Go over the starting lineups and Michigan’s offense averaged 3.45 stars — despite zero-star quarterback and former walk-on Warren — and the defense averaged 3.73 stars. Indiana’s offense averaged 2.81 stars, and its defense averaged 2.0 stars. So yes, Michigan is almost one star per player better with its on-field defense against Indiana’s offense — even without its best player, injured cornerback and five-star Will Johnson — and we’re left wondering how the Wolverines got all these stops .
Eight of Indiana’s starting 22 on Saturday, including Sarratt and Kamara, played for Cignetti at James Madison. Players rise from Group of 5 programs to Power 4 leagues and regularly impress. But a slew of James Madison players, and a former Mid-American Conference quarterback, threatening a hostile takeover of the Big Ten?
Recruiting rankings mean something, of course, and are largely tied to the success of the program, but they say nothing about how a player will grow and work and fit into a scheme. These evaluations say nothing about how people will fare. Or how they are coached and developed. They cannot predict the choices made in a dorm room on Thursday evening when happy hour beckons, but instead a young man browses for the squat press or the books.
It’s not just science and math, it’s art. And an Indiana program known for its shoddy replicas of “Dogs Playing Poker” is getting calls from the folks at the Guggenheim.
Yes, Saturday might have provided a glimpse of the potential battle against the best in the sport for this team, which still hasn’t played a great game. The loss of left guard Drew Evans — another zero-star recruit who has turned into an excellent player — to an Achilles injury during practice last week cannot be ignored because of Michigan’s four sacks and frequent pressure in the second half. The math says Indiana’s depth is weak.
Still, the way Saturday’s game went should be good for Indiana. For starters, no one will be shouting disrespect on behalf of the Hoosiers when Tuesday’s rankings are announced. More likely, they will wonder why Indiana is as high as it is. There’s no doubt that Cignetti will love that and use it.
And he just watched his players face unwanted pressure and respond. The defense did it again and again. The special teams made a huge play: Ke’Shawn Williams’ 22-yard kick was returned to the Michigan 39 to set up a Nicolas Radicic field goal for breathing room. Rourke made a crucial throw to get IU close enough and later ran for the first time on a read-option keeper that ultimately allowed for a victory formation.
“We knew eventually we were going to get to a close game and we would have to see what we are made of,” Rourke said.
“If you’re a good team and you stay confident, stay poised in those moments. No moment is too big,” Williams said.
Enjoy it for 24 hours. Watch the movie. Make improvements. The Hoosiers sounded like any other winning team involved in another championship chase on Saturday. However, Williams did acknowledge that in the final seconds he looked around at that crowd and thought, “This is crazy.”
It was. And it is.
“I can’t say enough about these guys,” Cignetti said. “I don’t throw many bouquets; You know that. But these guys have achieved a lot.”
No, he doesn’t throw bouquets. He takes clay that isn’t supposed to be top quality and molds it into something top quality. Leonardo da Cignetti said he will take a much-needed day off on Sunday. Then it’s back to the masterpiece.
(Photo of Zach Horton and Elijah Sarratt: James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
