3 Ways Michigan Football can fix things against Indiana

The pass rush has to win

One of the biggest differences between the first game and the second was the pressure applied on the quarterback. Michigan football was able to sack Tanner Morgan of Minnesota five times and pressured him on many other attempts.

But Michigan State protected Lombardi and used extra resources to do it and it paid off. The Wolverines corners couldn’t hold up down the field, Don Brown didn’t really adjust and guys like Aidan Hutchinson and Kwity Paye made basically no impact as Lombardi wasn’t sacked once.

If Paye and Hutchinson are limited in that way again Saturday, the Wolverines won’t have a great chance of winning at Indiana either. I get they are facing double teams, but still, you have to make some plays and maybe Brown needs to get creative to find them good matchups.

He definitely could have adjusted and played more defensive backs deep, instead of just allowing Michigan State to attack the same alignments over and over again. I’d expect to see more pressure packages this week too, because Brown won’t lose sitting on his hands.

That’s just not who he is and against Indiana, a team that doesn’t have as much talent as the Wolverines, it could work. But one thing is for sure, if Michigan can’t pressure Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr., it’s going to be another long day for the defense.