When Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh watches film of his team's loss to Michigan State from last week, there are plenty of areas he sees where the Wolverines can improve on.
The same can be said of Tom Allen when he watches the action from Indiana at Rutgers.
However, the two appear to be programs headed in opposition directions prior to this Saturday's noon clash at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Indiana University.
The 13th ranked Hoosiers enter at 2-0 win wins over Penn State and Rutgers, while Michigan, ranked 23rd, limps in at 1-1 after thumping Minnesota in the opener and then falling to the Spartans in Ann Arbor last week.
While the loss was dismal to Michigan's rival, Harbaugh, who has never lost back-to-back games during his tenure with the Wolverines, told the media this week the game is behind them and all attention is focused on Indiana.
Michigan owns the all-time series against Indiana, 59-9, while owning an impressive 24-game winning streak over the Hoosiers. Indiana's last win against Michigan came in 1987.
During his press conference Monday, Harbaugh spoke highly of the Hoosiers with the media.
"They do a lot of things well. Defensively, multiple looks. Offensively, good quarterback, very good receivers, really good running back. Very physical team. Very fired up team. And all the things that we’ve seen from Indiana year in and year out. Tom Allen does a great job coaching the team and it’s an exciting ball club, Tom’s really got them playing well," Harbaugh said.
He continued by saying this year's Hoosiers team was "even better, more talented" than previous years.
"They’re atop of the Big Ten standings right now. It’ll be a tough ball game, as it always is. They’re talented defensively and are multiplistic in their schemes. Their quarterback is playing well and is hot. Their receivers are making catches and getting open, and they have fine running backs. Their o-line has been physical as well. I’m not surprised how well they’ve started off the season here in 2020. If we play good, we play the way we're capable of, we will be tough to beat as well," he said.
In the game against Michigan State, Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton accounted for 59 of Michigan's 152 rushing yards and threw for 300 yards against Michigan State.
Milton looked well in the opener against Minnesota, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 225 yards and one touchdown. The Michigan offense managed to rush for 256 yards against the Golden Gophers, while giving up three tackles for a loss and a sack.
Defensively, the Wolverines allowed Michigan State to rack up 449 total yards, 323 of which came through the air. A week prior, the Spartans rushed for only 50 yards against Rutgers.
Harbaugh said this week his team has put the loss behind them.
"You lose a game, you try to come back and work hard and make darn sure it doesn't happen again," Harbaugh said.
His players have also bought into that mindset this week, turning their attention to the Hoosiers and forgetting what happened against Michigan State.
Tight end Nick Eubanks told the media loses happen.
"I've been here for five years. We've lost a ton of games, in a way of us being challenged. But it's adversity. Adversity is the best teacher, and the best thing to do is to move forward and move through it," he said.
Linebacker Josh Ross told the media fixing the problems starts in the locker room.
"At the end of the day, us, as players, we're all we got. We definitely emphasized that to each other, just communicating and talking. We're all we got, and we're going to keep pushing forward and bounce back stronger than ever," Ross said.
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