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Posted on Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 10:33 a.m.

Indiana football fans, players focus on Michigan

By AnnArbor.com Staff

BILL-LYNCH.jpg

Indiana football coach Bill Lynch on Michigan: “Everything has to be ratcheted up because (Michigan) is a team on a roll.”

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana football coach Bill Lynch wants his players focused solely on football all week.

Good luck, given the hype in Bloomington.

With No. 19 Michigan heading to town for Saturday's Big Ten opener (3:30 p.m., ESPNU), fans are asking the one question players won't: Can the Hoosiers pull the upset?

Indiana's fans have been pointing to this game as the season's first big measuring stick since the schedule came out, and many believe it will dictate how the rest of this season goes.

It's too hot a topic for even Lynch to discuss.

"This team has been an easy team to coach," Lynch said. "That's why I'm confident they understand that the level of play and intensity has to go up."

There is reason for hope in Bloomington. A year ago, the Hoosiers came within a whisker of winning their first game at Ann Arbor since 1967. Tate Forcier ruined the celebration with a 26-yard TD pass to Martavious Odoms with 2:29 to go, giving the Wolverines an unforgettable 36-33 victory that kept their winning streak intact.

"I remember what happened," Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell said with a wry smile after Saturday night's win over Akron.

Fifty-three weeks later, the storylines are virtually the same. Both teams are unbeaten. Both have proven they can score. Both are concerned about giving up too many points, and Michigan is ranked, again, while Indiana is not.

What has changed is the perception of the game. A year ago, nobody outside Indiana's locker room thought the Hoosiers could be competitive against one of their long-standing nemeses. Now, it's anybody's guess.

The conversations have returned to 1987, the last time Indiana beat Michigan, or 1990, the last time the Hoosiers started 4-0, or 2001, the last time Indiana won its Big Ten opener.

But the Hoosiers (3-0) aren't talking about any of that.

"Any team we play, we think we can beat the team. We never go into a game saying, 'I hope we win,'" receiver Terrance Turner said Monday. "If you're a competitor you want to win every game you play. We have more and more players with that same attitude."

Why not?

The Hoosiers have scored at least 35 points in all three games this season, and have had winning margins of 15 points or more all three times as well. Indiana has stayed relatively healthy, and Chappell is playing like a fifth-year senior, completing 72.4 percent of his passes, while throwing nine touchdowns and no interceptions.

And now, against a much better opponent than Towson, Western Kentucky or Akron, Chappell knows he and his teammates have to be even better if they want to rewrite history.

"I watched quite a lot of film yesterday, and I've tried to get somewhat comfortable with them," Chappell said. "They are similar to last year defensively. I think they're better. I think they had a lot of young guys last year and they were getting used to that system. So, now they've had a year in it and they're moving around a lot. They're a good team."

Good enough to give the Hoosiers worry.

Indiana's defense has given up several big plays to mobile quarterbacks during the first month of the season, and it has struggled to stop the run. Last weekend, Akron churned out 160 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, something that must get fixed before Denard Robinson and the Wolverines (4-0) come to town this weekend — even if Robinson is gimpy after bruising his left knee.

But will that be enough for the Hoosiers to, finally, beat Michigan after 16 consecutive losses? Perhaps.

"Everything has to be ratcheted up because (Michigan) is a team on a roll," Lynch said. "I had an opportunity to watch all four of their games and they really have improved each week. Denard Robinson is scary good.

"We have our work cut out for us, but I know our guys are pretty excited about it."

Comments

The Wolverine

Wed, Sep 29, 2010 : 3:43 p.m.

Michigan 63 - IU 21

Sean T.

Wed, Sep 29, 2010 : 8:27 a.m.

Bluemax, Did you watch the game? The Indiana reciever caught the ball and was down. Even the rules state that a tie constitutes a reception by the reciever. Even after the play was reviewed the refs made the wrong call. I was happy for the win but I would've liked to see us "beat" Indiana without doubt. If the same thing happened to us, you'd be crying not laughing!

3 And Out

Wed, Sep 29, 2010 : 5:49 a.m.

Chelsea...any questions for Rich Rod need to go through his crack team of lawyers first before they get to the all mighty.

ChelseaBob

Wed, Sep 29, 2010 : 5:21 a.m.

Michigan wins this one 70-63. One for the record books. Defensive players on both sides are given oxygen by paramedics. Has anyone told RR defense wins championships?

MichiganMan5

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.

Michigan 49 - IU 31, Denard and Co. roll over another not-so-great defense.

bluemax79

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 5:02 p.m.

makes me laugh to hear people say that DWarrens pick was a shabby call. He jumped the route, had 2 hands on the ball to the IU players 1 and came up with the ball. nothing shabby about it, it isn't like that play was in the end zone and was the last play of the game. it happened inside the IU 40 with a couple of minutes to go. if iu needs that supposed bad call to motivate them they will get killed in this game because this is NOT the same Michigan team.

3 And Out

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 4:12 p.m.

IU is going to be up for this game. It is at home and they want blood revenge for last year's loss. Bill Lynch is loading up on juicy fruit that he can throw out of his mouth at bad calls. In some respects, since our program has bottomed out and is now firmly entrenched in the lower echelon of the Big Ten, Indiana has become a new early-season rival.... and it is going to be a tough game... right now too close to call... Ben Chappel, Doss and company will get their points on us...and our one man led finesse offensive show will put some points on IU....should be an interesting game. Go Blue!

81wolverine

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 2:27 p.m.

Robinson is going to torch IU bigtime if he's fully recovered from his knee bruise. The key will be for Michigan to not turn the ball over and win the time of possession war decisively. The less IU's offense is on the field, the greater is Michigan's chance of winning easily. But, when our D IS on the field, they will need to do a much better job putting pressure on Chappell than they have other QB's this season. They'll need to consistently rush 4 or 5 guys in my opinion, or risk being shredded by big passing plays. Overall, I think Michigan should win by two TD's.

InsideTheHall

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 12:16 p.m.

Michigan 54 - IU 31

Sean T.

Tue, Sep 28, 2010 : 10:46 a.m.

Indiana would've beat us last year but we survived off a shabby call. This year Denard's speed should keep Indiana off balance all day because their defense is very suspect. (Truthfully, pretty bad) Indiana does have some decent guys over there that can play but it's not enough to play with us. This should be a high scoring game with potent offenses and very little defense so we may see a record-breaking total. Whoever controls the clock wins this game!