Michigan Football Returns, But For How Long? Wolverines Beat Hoosiers 34-10
For one glorious Homecoming weekend, Michigan football was back. How long that will last, though.
Fox Sports is reporting that Michigan’s offense utilized every opportunity and Michigan’s defense dominated a roughed-up Indiana team, beating the Hoosiers 34-10. It was the 19th straight time the Wolverines have defeated the Hoosiers.
Indiana fumbled the ball two times, on their 20- and 27-yard lines, which Michigan quickly turned into 14 points, leaving little doubt as to the outcome.
“It was good to see the kids with how hard they’ve worked,” Michigan coach Brady Hoke said.
He caught himself and continued, “I know I say it every week and some of you (the media) believe me and some of you don’t. They work their tails off every time they go to practice, they work their tails off as a group, they really are accountable to each other and that’s important and that’s the way they came out and played.”
It is possible that Hoke was speaking with a chip on his shoulder. On Monday, Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon resigned from his post. Many feel Hoke is next. But Hoke would have none of it.
Asked about Brandon, Hoke said, “I am not going to talk about that. I am going to talk about what those kids did between the white lines. We got all day Monday (his weekly press conference) we can discuss that, but this is about those kids going out and beating Indiana.”
Hoke was then asked if he’s had contact with interim athletic director Jim Hackett, to which he replied, “Look, we can talk all about that on Monday.”
ESPN is reporting that Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner was 22 for 29 and 220 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Michigan running back Drake Johnson had 16 rushes for 122 yards and two more touchdowns.
One bright spot for Indiana was running back Tevin Coleman, who rushed for 108 yards on 27 carries. Though this was far below the 170 yards per game Coleman has gotten, he is still the only running back in the nation who has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the 8 games he has played in.
Attendance for yesterday’s game was 103,111, marking the 257th consecutive time Michigan Stadium held over 100,000 people. There had been fears that tensions between Hoke and Brandon would stop this streak. With only one game left in Ann Arbor against Maryland, the attendance record seems secure for the rest of this year. Next year, however, may be a different story altogether.
[Image courtesy of Rich Osentowski, USA Today]
