Michigan vs. Indiana: How to watch, tips and odds as the Hoosiers try to maintain their unbeaten streak

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

Who is having more fun this season than Indiana? Not only are the Hoosiers 9-0 for the first time in school history, they also played as perfectly as a college football team can. Ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings, they have the No. 2 offense and No. 7 defense and are 8-1 against the spread. Don’t expect that to change when unranked Michigan comes to town, even with Indiana as a two-touchdown favorite.

First-year coach Curt Cignetti currently holds the key to Bloomington after moving on from a team projected to finish 17th in the Big Ten.

The Hoosiers’ biggest upset came last week when they trailed for the first time this season against Michigan State. Losing 10-0, Indiana decided they had had enough of new experiences. The Hoosiers were 21-10 at halftime and 47-10 at the end. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke flipped the offensive switch like he has all year. The senior MAC transfer is tied for the Big Ten lead with 19 touchdown passes with Ohio State’s Will Howard and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. He leads the conference in efficiency rating and yards gained per pass attempt and is second nationally with just three interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, the Hoosiers allow the third-fewest yards per game (261) and have the best run defense in the country (72.6 yards per game). Given that Michigan can only rely on rush, it doesn’t bode well for the Wolverines heading into Memorial Stadium. But when 5-4 Michigan resigns itself to a bad season, they’re happy to settle for ruining someone else’s good season. Any win against a ranked conference team is as valuable as gold in a down year, so the Wolverines have something to fight for. They just don’t have the firepower to ruin this party.