Indiana Falls to No. 7 Michigan

Saturday, November 6

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Indiana University

2-7 , 0-6

#9/10/7 Michigan

8-1 , 5-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana

Michigan

11/6/2021 11:21:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tough times continue for Indiana.

Injuries.

Big plays allowed.

A struggling offense.

A fifth-straight defeat.

It was all there Saturday night at Michigan Stadium during a 29-7 loss to No. 7 Michigan, and for this, head coach Tom Allen has a firm message:

"This team has a lot of character and grit and fight to it," he told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during his post-game radio show. "There's a lot of hurt in the locker room, and rightfully so, but these guys have a lot of pride in who they represent. They will pull together and finish strong."

The blows keep coming. Walk-on running backs. A banged-up defense. The last scholarship quarterback – although it is hyper-talented, and unnervingly fearless Donaven McCulley.

The Hoosiers (2-7) kept taking shots in front of a crowd of 109,000-plus, and Michigan (8-1) gradually pulled away.

"The kids battled," Allen told Fischer. "They fought.

"It's very disappointing. The frustrations continue. Michigan is a good team. They're one of the better teams we've played."

IU finished with 195 total yards, just 53 in the second half.

"We have to execute better," Allen told Fischer. "We didn't get it done."

The Hoosiers' defensive injuries -- cornerbacks Reese Taylor and Tiawan Mullen didn't make the trip -- continued. Defensive end Ryder Anderson was briefly shaken up. Outside linebacker Jaren Handy suffered a lower leg injury after colliding with teammate Micah McFadden. Defensive end James Head Jr. was banged up after making a ferocious third-quarter tackle. Defensive tackles Demarcus Elliott and Weston Kramer needed attention.

Then there was the first-play injury to offensive lineman Luke Haggard and the first-half injury to tailback Stephen Carr, which left the Hoosiers with zero scholarship running backs for the rest of the game.

Carr finished with 12 yards on three carries.

"I've never seen anything like it," Allen told Fischer about the injuries. "Stephen will be out who knows. Luke Haggard went down. He played just one snap. That was a big blow. Handy went down. That was another big blow. That's three pretty good players right there.

"(Injuries have) been an unfortunate theme of the whole season. We have to get as many of them back as we can. Go back to work. Keep battling."

It was a tough day for McCulley, a true freshman who was under constant pressure and sacked twice. He was 10-for-24 for 88 yards. He also rushed 14 times for a team-leading 37 yards.

"Donaven struggled in that area," Allen told Fischer about the lack of a passing attack. "He missed some open receivers. He showed his youth. He prepared well and worked hard, but with the pressure and the way they do things, he was uneven at times.

"He didn't trust the pocket. He made some quick decisions because he's young and not able to trust what was in front of him and the reads he was supposed to make. That's part of the growth process.

"He continued to show toughness. Had some really good runs."

McCulley was making just his second college start.

"I've got to play better," he said. "It's as simple as that. I've got to play better. I've got to find a way to become more comfortable. I have to find more poise.

"It was tough to move the ball. That's really it."

Against Michigan's ferocious attack-the-quarterback approach -- Wolverine defensive ends Aiden Hutchinson and David Ojabo each entered the game with seven sacks -- IU went with a quick-pass game plan that featured plenty of McCulley runs.

For much of the first half, it worked.

McCulley wasn't intimidated on the Hoosiers' first possession, when he ran three times for 10 yards, threw five passes and completed three, and delivered consecutive third-down conversions before the Hoosiers punted.

However, the Wolverines pressure began getting to McCulley. Ojabo's second-quarter sack forced a fumble. The Wolverines recovered on the IU 24-yard line and scored a touchdown. Add their field goal to end the first quarter and they led 10-0.

IU went with a trick play to slow Michigan's pass rush. McCulley lined up at wide receiver, took a reverse pass, threw into triple coverage and completed a first-down-making pass to tight end Peyton Hendershot.

A few plays later, McCulley ran 24 yards, breaking two tackles, trying to run over a third tackler, and got the ball inside the 10-yard line. That set up Chris Childers' TD run for a 10-7 score.

Michigan came back with a touchdown for a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Wolverines added a touchdown and two field goals for a 29-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

After four-straight three-and-outs, McCulley hit a third-down pass to Davion Ervin-Poindexter for a first down. IU got another first down, but couldn't sustain the momentum.

The Hoosiers got a fourth-quarter interception from safety Devon Matthews. McFadden had a sack. That gave him a tackle for loss for the 14th-straight game.

Husky Bryant Fitzgerald and Kramer also had sacks.

Still, the Hoosiers gave up a 62-yard run and a 50-yard pass to set up Wolverine scores.

"The long run didn't make any sense," Allen told Fischer. "The pressure we brought was perfect for that play. We didn't finish.

"That long pass should never have happened. The coverage we were in was set up to take that away. We didn't execute it properly.

"The consistency that caused them to kick field goals was a positive, but we gave up too many big plays."

IU returns to Memorial Stadium next week to face Rutgers at noon on BTN.