Halftime Thoughts: Michigan 28, Indiana 17

admin October 19, 2013 0

By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Here are some thoughts at halftime of the Hoosiers’ visit to the Big House, with Indiana trailing 28-17:

The skies over Michigan Stadium were often cloudy and periodically rainy early in the game. (Photo by Chris Goff.)

Devin Gardner tortured the Hoosiers with his arm and legs, and the Wolverines scored three touchdowns on the ground and one through the air to open a nice lead on a team that hasn’t beaten them since 1987. Gardner has completed 12 of 18 passes for 237 yards and a 21-yard scoring toss to Jeremy Gallon. Gallon is dominating whoever stands in his way, with eight catches for 170 yards.

Indiana scored first on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Nate Sudfeld to Cody Latimer, who sped past Raymon Taylor down the left side. The reception was the 100th of Latimer’s career. Indiana now has four players with 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards on their resume. The Hoosiers had never had four guys with those kind of numbers on the same team until this season.

A 50-yard field goal by Mitch Ewald as time expired gave the Hoosiers a lift as they ran back to the locker room to regroup. That, combined with a 39-yard field goal attempt by Michigan which Indiana’s Ralph Green blocked, accounted for a six-point swing on special teams and is a big reason the Hoosiers still have a chance to win it.

Gardner has eight carries for 39 yards, including a 13-yard scoring run, and has flirted with intentional grounding on several occasions as he spent a lot of time scrambling around in the backfield. Indiana got him down a few times but not enough. Michigan’s maligned tailbacks have played pretty well, combing for 77 yards on 18 carries. Fitzgerald Toussaint scored from 2 and 7 yards.

Tre Roberson replaced Sudfeld with 11:53 left in the second quarter and played the rest of the way. In four series led by Sudfeld, Indiana punted three times. Behind Roberson’s strong play, the Hoosiers scored twice in three possessions. Roberson is 4-of-6 for 67 yards and a touchdown. It will be interesting to see if Kevin Wilson stays with Roberson from here on out.

Michigan gets the ball to start the second half.

Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.