The seventh-ranked Indiana Hoosiers come to Ann Arbor on Saturday. It's a critical game for both teams.
Indiana is trying to avoid a second straight loss after their winning streak was snapped last week by Ohio State after winning 22 in a row.
The Wolverines are 4-2. After losses to Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan football needs to win out to make the College Football Playoff.
It would just be nice to see the Wolverines get a big win. Despite winning nine games last season, the closest thing to a breakthrough win was over Washington.
Indiana on upset alert against Michigan football in Week 8
The Hoosiers are a 7.5-point favorite for this game. Some have said that's too high. You could argue it's too low, too. Michigan, of course, is starting a true freshman quarterback, Tommy Carr.
Carr came off the bench for Bryce Underwood in the 21-18 win over Penn State. He was 5 of 7 for 47 yards. The grandson of Lloyd Carr, the Michigan football national-championship-winning head coach, also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown bringing a smile to his grandpa's face.
Carr brought smiles to the faces of Michigan football fans, too. The Wolverines needed a win and the offense needed to score some points.
It will be interesting to see how he does, though. We have seen quarterbacks come off the bench and play well, only to struggle as the starter the next week. Dylan Raiola of Oregon threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns one week, coming off the bench, then passed for 49 yards and two interceptions as the starter the next.
USC, the first opponent, and UCLA, the second for Raiola, have different calibers of defense. That is true here, too. Penn State is below average. Indiana leads the Big Ten in sacks and has the fewest rushing yards allowed.
That being said, Nebraska had an 11-point lead on the Hoosiers in the fourth quarter. Northwestern also lost by six points, so there is a reason to believe this can be a close game.
Josh Pate has put Indiana on "upset alert." Here's what he said about the Michigan-Indiana matchup.
"Theoretically, it's a lower-scoring game, which means it's a higher-variance game, which means I got to put a seven on the upset alert concern meter. I like the over a little bit, though. I think the number is just a little bit too low. Not enough to bet on the show tonight, though," Pate said.
Joel Klatt, who will be calling the game for Fox, also thinks Michigan can give Indiana some problems, mainly because of its defense, which leads college football in fewest yards allowed per play.
"I think it's going to be difficult for Indiana to just kind of run away from this Michigan team," he said on his podcast.
CBS Sports also has Indiana on upset alert against the Wolverines.
The defense is good enough. If Michigan can intercept Josh Hoover for the first time this season and if Tommy Carr doesn't look too much like a freshman, the Wolverines could leave the Big House with a win.
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