View from the press box: No. 23 Michigan rallies, tops Indiana 36-33
Tate Forcier hit Martavious Odoms with a 26-yard scoring pass late in the fourth quarter as No. 23 Michigan scored just enough to hold off upset-minded Indiana in a 36-33 victory.
Michigan (4-0, 1-0 in the Big Ten) faces Michigan State next week.
Just three minutes before Odoms' touchdown, Indiana's Darius Willis raced 85 yards up the left sideline and Indiana’s sideline erupted as the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) took a 33-29 lead.
Willis' touchdown run was the longest by an Indiana player since 1977 and came shortly after Michigan looked ready to take control of the game against upset-minded Indiana.
Moments earlier, Forcier dove high and reached the end zone on a 7-yard run as Michigan earned a 29-26 lead. Forcier also ran up the middle on the two-point conversion. His touchdown capped Michigan's best drive of the day, a 13-play, 75-yard effort.
Nick Freeland kicked his fourth field goal, a 32-yarder, as Indiana built a 26-21 lead in the third quarter in Michigan Stadium.
Freeland’s latest field goal, which tied an Indiana record for most in a game, came at the end of a 12-play, 72-yard drive. He missed a 42-yarder with just over 14 minutes left in the game.
Indiana took advantage of turnovers by Michigan freshman quarterbacks Forcier and Denard Robinson to take a 23-21 lead into halftime.
Freeland kicked his third field goal of the first half with 23 seconds left, four plays after Indiana recovered a fumble by Robinson.
In a back-and-forth game, Brandon Minor scored on a 12-yard run as No. 23 Michigan took a 21-20 lead against Indiana late in the second quarter. Minor’s touchdown completed a seven-play, 70-yard drive. The biggest chunk of the drive came when Robinson hit tight end Kevin Koger on a 35-yard pass play.
Indiana built a 20-14 lead earlier, taking advantage of a Forcier interception.
Forcier, under pressure and falling, tossed a high short ball that was intercepted by Nickolas Sliger at the Michigan 30-yard line. Five plays later, Freeland kicked his second field goal, a 20-yarder.
Freeland had a 24-yard field goal earlier in the second quarter.
Indiana and Michigan entered the second quarter tied 14-14 as the teams opened Big Ten action with a four-touchdown first quarter.
Indiana's Darius Willis scored on an 11-yard run, diving into the corner of the end zone as the Hoosiers tied the game.
Carlos Brown scored on a 41-yard run with 6:22 to play in the first quarter, giving Michigan a 14-7 lead.
It was Brown’s second touchdown of the game. He took a pass from Forcier 61 yards for a touhdown on Michigan’s first possession.
Michigan’s first touchdown came 23 seconds after Indiana opened the game with a touchdown. Tandon Doss scored on a 25-yard run to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
Brown had 187 yards rushing and scored twice last week against Eastern Michigan.
Security: Entry to Michigan Stadium was smooth, even though the security was much more visible. Dogs sniffed bags at the media entrance, and uniformed security used mirrors to check under cars and golf carts. The crowd was still filing into the stadium four minutes before the game.