So far this season Indiana has been a train rolling toward the College Football Playoff, but this Saturday could bring its toughest test yet.
The 9-0 Hoosiers face off against the defending national champion Michigan and, despite the Wolverines currently sitting at 5-4. many believe that this could be the game that finally trips up Curt Cignetti's squad.
Michigan hasn't been great at times, but that block M is that block M, meaning that the CFP committee might recognize this as a marquee win even if this year's team hasn't been up to standard this season.
Given this, here are three keys to the game that should allow Indiana to defeat Michigan, stay undefeated and continue in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.
GET OUT IN FRONT EARLY
It took until last week at Michigan State for Indiana to trail in a game, going down 10-0 in he first quarter before scoring 47 unanswered to dismantle the Spartans 47-10.
While going down 10-0 worked out in the Hoosiers' favor last week, IU can't expect that to happen again, meaning that it should revert back to its old ways, getting ahead early.
Michigan is a tougher test compared to MSU and, while the game is at home, the Wolverines posses a stronger defense, one that would be less likely to give up 47 straight points.
IU has a shot to put away the Wolverines early here, so I'd say it should go ahead and take it, especially if the running game can get going.
Michigan's rush defense is stronger than its pass defense but, if Indiana's backs can get going early, the Wolverine front seven won't stand a chance.
Justice Ellison has started coming into his own, while Ty Son Lawton has continued to be great, with even receivers Myles Price and Omar Cooper Jr. impacting the running game last week at MSU.
While getting ahead early doesn't necessarily mean the running game has to be the focal point, it should be the easiest way for IU to get an early lead.
After scoring 47 points straight last week, look for IU to continue that momentum, as getting ahead early will make this game nearly unwinnable for Michigan, making it one of the keys to this game.
EXPOSE MICHIGAN'S PASS DEFENSE
Like I mentioned, the Michigan rush defense is the strength of the UM defensive unit, meaning that the IU passing game can expose this weakness.
While I said that the rushing game could be a huge part of getting ahead early, the passing game may be even more important for the game as a whole, as Kurtis Rourke and company have a real shot to make this subpar Michigan secondary look weak.
After firing on all cylinders in his first game back from his thumb injury, he should do more of the same in this one, as the Wolverine pass defense is currently ranked 78th in the country in pass yards allowed per game, as well as pass completion percentage allowed.
This is much worse than IU's pass offense's metrics, as the Hoosiers rank 25th in pass yards per game, though ranking in the top 10 in completion percentage and yards per pass.
To add on, last week, against Oregon's Dillion Gabriel, Michigan allowed 294 passing yards on 22-for-34 passing from Gabriel. This is particularly interesting as Rourke is widely considered with Gabriel as the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten, meaning Rourke could have a similar game.
This all points to IU needing to expose this weakness as, while the Michigan rush defense is ranked in the top 25 for run defenses, the passing defense is a part of the game where IU has a massive advantage, making this a very important key to this game.
FORCE DAVIS WARREN TO MAKE PLAYS
In what has been a revolving door of sorts, Michigan's quarterback play has been poor all season, now with Davis Warren as QB1, but still a glaring weakness from the Wolverines.
Warren started the first three games for Michigan, going 2-1 with a blowout loss to Texas, and was then replaced with Alex Orji under center.
Orji went 2-1 as a starter, although he was replaced in the loss to Washington, making way for former IU QB Jack Tuttle, who then started the next game against Illinois, a loss, before stepping away and retiring due to consistent injuries.
This paved the way for Warren to get his starting role back, as he will be under center against IU for his second straight start, despite not truly looking good all season.
Warren's high pass yards for a game was 204 against Texas but, even then, he didn't look good in the decisive loss to the Longhorns.
Warren also doesn't pose a rushing threat, collecting only seven rushing yards so far this season, meaning that if IU can force Warren out of the pocket, he should get uncomfortable and show the weaknesses he's shown all year.
Because of all this, the IU defense should focus on containing the rushing attack led by Donavan Edwards, forcing Warren to beat them rather than the usual Michigan way of beating teams with its rushing game.
Doing so is a huge key to this game, something that should result in Indiana continuing its largest unbeaten streak to start a season, with 10-0 at stake here against Michigan.
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