| Is a trap game a trap game, if it is identified as a trap game as soon as the schedule is released? Indiana has given Michigan fits recently, but hasn't been able to break their losing streak to the Wolverines. Combine that with being slotted between rivals Michigan State and Ohio State on the schedule, and yeah, we've known about it. If someone says "hey, watch out for that trap door, right there," and points to it, and you still fall through it, that's not a trap, you're just incompetent. I said back in September after seeing Michael Penix that the Hoosiers were for real. What I didn't expect is that they would be just as real with Peyton Ramsey. Penix is 3rd in the Big Ten in Total QBR, but Ramsey is 5th. Ahead of guys like Jack Coan, Nate Stanley, Shea Patterson, Brian Lewerke, Adrian Martinez and Josh Jackson. Nobody would have believed that preseason, but boy are the Indiana faithful glad that the former starter didn't hit the transfer portal as so many others in his position have. The Hoosiers may be without Whop Phiylor, probably the only offensive weapon who can threaten the Michigan defense. He's the shifty slot athlete who mismatches against linebackers in Don Brown's sytem, as Penn State and Ohio State have exploited. Indiana has a solid group around him, but Wolverine cornerbacks seem to otherwise match up well. Indiana is the lone Big Ten team averaging over 300 passing yards per game in Big Ten play, 3rd in ypa, averaging 37.1 passing attempts per game, 2nd only to Purdue. So as effective as this offense is, if the passing game doesn't work without Phiylor, it could sputter in a hurry. Coming off the best game of his Michigan career, Shea Patterson has no such concerns, after facing significant benching speculation earlier in the year. Over his last 5 games, he's thrown 10 touchdowns to just 1 interception, and now gets to throw against a Hoosier secondary that has one of the lowest interception rates in the country, tallying just 1 through 7 Big Ten games. Oh, and the "away" crowd will probably end up being about 50/50 Michigan fans. |