INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ¬- Bill Lynch spent the past two weeks correcting mistakes. Now Indiana's coach must keep the Hoosiers humming.

This week's trip to No. 23 Michigan couldn't come at a better time for the Hoosiers, who are coming off their most impressive victory of the season Saturday at Akron. Indiana was efficient on the ground, reduced the number of penalties and made enough defensive plays that it didn't take another late game-saving stop to improve to 3-0.

Indiana coach Bill Lynch and his players celebrate in the final seconds of the team's 23-19 win over Western Michigan earlier this season. (AP Photo/The Herald-Times, Chris Howell)

By all accounts, it was Indiana's best game of the young season.

"It's the second straight week we achieved the balance we're looking for in our offense," Lynch said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. "The whole idea behind The Pistol was to have a semblance of balance. I'm more concerned with that than the total number of yards."

Indiana also needed a confidence boost heading into conference play after barely surviving the first two weeks. It faces a brutal six-game stretch, which starts with back-to-back games against perennial Big Ten powers Michigan and Ohio State.

First comes the trip to Ann Arbor. Indiana hasn't won there since the Rose Bowl season of 1967 and hasn't played at Michigan Stadium since 2005. Worse yet, Indiana has lost 15 straight in the series dating to 1988, and is 1-30 against the Wolverines (3-0) since 1968.

Not a single player on Indiana's roster has played in front of the more than 100,000 fans that usually pack Michigan Stadium. And if the Hoosiers have any chance to end a seven-game road losing streak against conference foes, they'll have to play even better than they did at Akron.

"What we have to do is go out and perform at a high intensity level. You get your wins from that," left tackle Rodger Saffold said. "We've got to take each game as a step toward our goal. You can't say 'We're going to get a win here or a win there,' you want to win every game."

The Hoosiers have been making progress.

Against Eastern Kentucky, the Hoosiers struggled because they couldn't run the ball effectively. Now they've piled up more than 100 yards in two straight weeks.

Against Western Michigan, the continual penalties nearly cost them another victory. Indiana responded by committing only four penalties at Akron, a significant reduction from the 10.5 they averaged the first two weeks.

Perhaps more impressive was that Indiana scored three second-half touchdowns Saturday after producing just six second-half points in the first two games. Last year, they were outscored 208-75 in the third and fourth quarters, including 55-7 in the final two games.

But this year's stats have come against two Mid-American Conference schools and a Football Championship Subdivision opponent.

It won't be the same at Michigan, which has returned to the Top 25 after a dismal first season under coach Rich Rodriguez. The Wolverines are bigger, faster and deeper than Indiana's first three opponents and the Hoosiers are 8-39 outside of Bloomington, Ind., since 2000.

"The environment is tough (on the road), and I think the environment is tough at Iowa, it's tough at Michigan State," Lynch said. "I think there's passion for football in the Big Ten and playing against good teams and good players. Everyone wants to win on Saturdays and it makes it a little tougher when you go on the road."

What will it take for the Hoosiers to finally beat Michigan?

Confidence, precision and the kind of improvement Lynch has been seeking for the last three weeks. The Hoosiers think they're up to the task.

"I think it (playing Michigan) just raises the excitement," Saffold said. "People are going to accept the challenge. Right now, we're 3-0 and we're going to challenge ourselves to get to the next level to get to a bowl."