Michigan’s Defense Dominates Indiana

By David Cuff @DaveCuff on November 1, 2014

It has been a long season for the Michigan Wolverines, but on Homecoming weekend they came up big.  The defense was dominant in the 34-10 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers.  When the defense plays like this Michigan is a completely different team.

Not even Heisman candidate Tevin Coleman was able to have his usual success. Indiana only scored 10 points on 191 yards of total offense, with most of that yardage coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter.  Coleman was only able to muster up 108 yards on 27 carries, his worst effort of the season, and only 24 of Indiana’s total yards came in the passing game.  Third string quarterback Zander Diamont continues to struggle to move the football.

Freshmen defensive tackle Bryan Mone was an absolute beast for the Wolverines defense. He was in the backfield all game long and had a fumble recovery. Mone is one of many young defenders for Michigan that gives the team hope their defense can become dominant over the next few years. Indiana was just 3-13 on third downs and turned the ball over twice. Michigan is last in FBS when it comes to turnover differential, but they were actually able to win the turnover battle today due to their defensive dominance.

It still is a long road for Michigan in their quest to make a bowl game, but when their defense plays like this, it makes that quest look possible. Led by senior linebacker Jake Ryan this defense will need to continue to play well over the next few weeks. There is still a lot to play for and Michigan will look to finish the season strong.

David Cuff is a University of Michigan Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveCuff, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.