O’Korn starts in place of Speight for No. 4 Michigan

Michigan’s offense needed something to spark it and with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the third quarter, looking at third-and-8, it looked bleak.

-Playing for injured quarterback Wilton Speight, John O’Korn is 5 for 10 for just 46 yards while adding four rushes for negative-11 yards on the ground. He scrambled, rumbled and stumbled for a 30-yard gain for a first down. If Michigan can contain Redding, they will have no problem against an IN offense that seems to be turnover prone, especially out of the quarterback position. We expect Strong to get the boot and for Texas to get its man in Tom Herman.

Style points are irrelevant now.

The Hoosiers will have one more chance to become bowl-eligible next week when they host rival Purdue in their regular-season finale. Penn State, which visits Rutgers, has won six consecutive Big Ten games in the same season for the first time since 1994. (51) celebrates after sacking MI quarterback John O’Korn (8) in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. They can make life awfully easy on O’Korn if Indiana’s secondary can’t stick with them. The Hoosiers are also at a disadvantage after a MI loss to Iowa last week and I just can not see the Wolverines not bouncing back hungrier than ever.

It needs a fight – and that’s exactly what the Hoosiers want to take to MI. If Indiana can shut down the running game like they did against Penn State, O’Korn will have to chuck it and that could be an issue for MI.

Short of having a return for a score, the special teams were about as good as they could be. Don’t turn the ball over. “He made a heck of a play”. Speight or O’Korn, it doesn’t matter.

O’Korn was 7 of 16 yards for just 59 yards, the fewest yards passing for MI since John Navarre threw for 58 in a win over Wisconsin on November 17, 2001.

MI needs to get itself some momentum heading into next week’s game with Ohio State.

So far this season Rob is 9-1 picking the results of MI games.

Will Michigan beat Ohio? Can Smith or Chris Evans be that difference-maker in the running game? But the Wolverines continue to shine when necessary, allowing fewer yards in the second half and only one drive that crossed into U-M territory, that ending as a field goal. IN would finish with only 255 yards total on an abysmal 1.8 yards per carry on 36 attempted runs. The Wolverines had 50 rushing attempts.

While he excelled on the ground, the Wolverines defense held IN to 255 total yards. It will be a good test to get the team back on track before a showdown with Ohio State next week. He is a fine quarterback who has now been in Michigan’s system for two years. Barrett had 139 yards and three TDs. And will the Hoosiers use their improved defense to take advantage of an inexperienced quarterback? The defense can’t have a meltdown.

MI may be without its starting quarterback again next week. All that said, the formula doesn’t change. The Wolverines have won 20 straight against IN, but this is no gimme.

As game winds down, MI crowd starts chanting, “Beat Ohio!” Players did snow angels.

Where: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich.

It has to be ugly next week in Columbus. After a stunning loss to unranked Iowa, they will now look to feast on the unsuspecting Indiana Hoosiers. “The game is big enough in itself”. The 2006 meeting, when the Buckeyes and Wolverines were 1-2 in the rankings, will be hard to top. The impact would be momentous. I think MI can win this game by 35 points. Don’t count on that.