Indiana can have another narrative-changing moment this weekend with win over Michigan
Indiana’s season has been filled with narrative-changing moments. All throughout the season, there have been signs that Tom Allen and the Hoosiers are building a program capable of sustaining success on the field.
On Saturday, Indiana has another chance to prove to the school, its fans and the college football world that times are changing in Bloomington. Another one of those narrative-changing opportunities is knocking on the doors of Memorial Stadium.
No. 13 Michigan brings its 8-2 record and a 23-game winning streak against Indiana to Bloomington this weekend, a stretch that dates back to 1987, well before anyone on either roster was born. Seven different head coaches have been on the sideline for the Hoosiers during that time, and not one has been able to put an end to Michigan’s dominance in the series.
Allen gets his third opportunity this Saturday, and it might be his best chance yet.
Indiana is 0-2 against Michigan under Allen, but both contests have been close. In 2017, the Hoosiers took the Wolverines to overtime in Bloomington, falling 27-20 on their home turf. Last season, Michigan defeated Indiana 31-20, but IU held a 17-15 advantage at halftime on the road.
Close, but no cigar. Until this year, that cliché could’ve been used not only to describe Indiana’s performances against the likes of Ohio State and Michigan recently, but the program as a whole under Allen during the last two years.
IU finished the 2017 and 2018 seasons with 5-7 records, narrowly missing out on bowl bids each season. In those two years, Indiana lost seven of those 14 games by one possession. Both years, the Hoosiers fell to Purdue by a touchdown, failing to capture the Old Oaken Bucket and a postseason appearance.
Some of that has already changed in 2019.
Indiana clinched bowl eligibility before the calendar reached November. It got off to a 7-2 start, guaranteeing its first winning season since 2007. With that record, the Hoosiers earned a spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 25) and Associated Press Poll (No. 24), breaking a 25-year absence from the rankings.
For the Hoosiers, the next logical step is beating one of the B1G’s blueblood programs. And in a season where IU is changing the expectation on the field, is it so difficult to believe Indiana can pull off the upset this weekend?
Right now, Indiana is playing with house money. With a bowl berth secured, there’s really nothing for Allen and company to lose this weekend. Plus, the Hoosiers are catching Michigan in a “trap game” situation, coming off an emotional win over Michigan State and a week before “The Game” against Ohio State.
And, not that Indiana necessarily needs it, but Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson may have provided the Hoosiers with a little bulletin board material last Saturday after the Wolverines knocked off the Spartans.
“It was awesome, and we’re gonna enjoy this win,” Patterson said after the MSU game. “In the back of our minds, we know we got one more — one more big one to go. We gotta go on the road to Indiana, but our eyes are still set on the last one.”
Allen has been known to use comments like this as fuel for his team, just ask Nebraska about that (even though we’re still not entirely sure what he was referencing after the game).
Michigan’s last three trips to Bloomington have all resulted in seven-point wins. In 2015, the Hoosiers lost in double overtime and the 2017 contest was determined after one overtime. Indiana has flirted with the upset bid a handful of times since 2010, but has never hurdled the obstacle.
There are other goals on Indiana’s list this season. The Hoosiers want to take back the Old Oaken Bucket by beating Purdue at the end of the season. Allen and his squad want to be the first team at IU to win a bowl game since 1991, another drought older than anyone on the roster.
But beating Michigan, a team ranked 13th nationally and playing its best football of the season, would be another one of those narrative-changing moments for Indiana. This one would put the world of college football on notice.