Michigan football picks vs. Indiana: Can Wolverines pull off upset vs. red-hot Hoosiers?

Posted by author November 9, 2024 Football

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A week after taking on the No. 1 team in the nation, the Michigan Wolverines have another tall task, but this time on the road.

The Wolverines were outmatched by Oregon at Michigan Stadium last week, losing 38-17 while missed opportunities and coaching gaffs led to the game slipping away. If Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines want a different result this week, they’ll have to play a much cleaner game, as No. 10 Indiana has proven time and time again this year it’s not a team to mess with.

The Hoosiers are a perfect 9-0 this year in the first season under new head coach Curt Cignetti and are coming off one of, if not the most impressive games they’ve played yet this year, destroying Michigan State, 47-10, on its home turf. Can the Wolverines get a different result? Five Free Press sports writers have some thoughts on that:

Tony Garcia

If the front of the jersey said “USC” instead, this team would be ranked inside the top five. Cignetti doesn’t mind running it up, Rourke is a veteran quarterback making his 43rd start and the Hoosiers defense loves to wreck a quarterback’s afternoon (just ask MSU’s Aidan Chiles). Maybe U-M keeps it close early, but more likely, there’s a result which feels inevitable. The pick: Indiana 34, U-M 17.

Carlos Monarrez

Fans in Bloomington wear Cignetti T-shirts with a logo that resembles the Marlboro cigarette box. Everyone knows smoking is bad for you — but it’s not as harmful as Curt Cignetti’s team is going to be this week for the Wolverines. It’s a payback game the No. 10 Hoosiers have been waiting for since U-M ran up the score on them in last year’s 52-7 loss. The pick: Indiana 42, U-M 17

Rainer Sabin

These are crazy times. Michigan, which beat Indiana by 45 points last season, are now major underdogs to the Hoosiers. But Curt Cignetti’s squad is the real deal, while the Wolverines look nothing like the juggernaut that won the national title last January. Indiana is strong across the board, ranking among the nation’s 10 best teams in both scoring offense and defense. Michigan has struggled against top competition this year, losing to Texas and Oregon by an average margin of 20 points.

The Hoosiers, who have won each of their previous nine games by at least two touchdowns, now stand among the Longhorns and Ducks as College Football Playoff contenders. So, the Wolverines better brace themselves. It could be a long afternoon down in Bloomington. The pick: Indiana 35, U-M 17.

Jeff Seidel

Indiana is everything Michigan could have been. The Hoosiers hired a coach with a track record of winning — someone who knows how to build a winning roster. Indiana went into the transfer portal and grabbed an honest-to-goodness legit quarterback and then bolstered its roster with guys who have actually produced in college, grabbing 14 transfers who had all-conference (or honorable mention) honors. Boom — a winner was born, instead of standing pat and saying: Yeah, but we won last year. The pick: Indiana 27, U-M 14

Shawn Windsor

The Wolverines had the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter against Oregon last week. If they can do that, they can stick around with Indiana, too, especially if Davis Warren is going to play as he did against the Ducks. U-M’s quarterback had his best showing. So did his team, and while the Hoosiers don’t quite have the talent the Ducks do, they have enough to make a play in the end. The pick: Indiana 26, U-M 20.