Michigan was in an ugly dogfight with Indiana yesterday, with both teams scoring just 6 points in regulation. Indiana would score in two plays once overtime began and Michigan couldn't counter with a touchdown of their own. The Hoosiers won 13-6 in what was a brutal performance for Michigan's offense.
The defense on the other hand played their hearts out, and they were let down in a big way by the offense who couldn't manage much of anything all game long . Let's dive into the stock report for Michigan below.
I had to start with these two, as they were the two best players for Michigan in this game in my opinion. They were matched up in man coverage a lot with two great wide receivers in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, and they did more than hold their own. Combined, the two Indiana wide receivers had 5 catches for 57 yards.
Both Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry were fantastic in coverage all day long. Jyaire Hill had 2 pass breakups, and Zeke Berry had 1 pass break up along with a crucial second half interception that set up Michigan's offense with the ball at the 12 yard line.
These two players played fantastic, and they were a huge reason why Michigan's defense had so much success in this game. It makes calling defensive plays so much easier if you have two corners who you can trust in man coverage to limit legitimate stars at wide receiver on the other side.
I'm certainly not going to blame Michigan's putrid offensive performance all on Tommy Carr, who was making his first career start against one of the best defenses in college football, but he didn't exactly play well either. He had two bad turnovers that set up Indiana's first two field goals. He also took three bad sacks on third downs that made their own field goal attempts more difficult than they needed to be.
Tommy Carr's play in this game showed that this offense has issues much bigger, and more problematic, than simply who lines up at quarterback for the Wolverines. I'm sure he'll get better with more experience, but this was a bad performance for the true freshman and there's really no way around it.
Michigan safety Chris Bracy tackles Indiana running back Turbo Richard | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Chris Bracy continued his ascent as of late, making 13 more tackles in this game including a tackle for loss. He was very good once again after a breakout performance last week for Michigan's defense, showcasing good tackling and good run support once again in this game.
His play in the last two weeks has really helped Michigan's defense elevate even more, and he's playing like a future NFL draft pick right now.
I have to preface this part with acknowledging that the offensive line was once again starting a new combination in this game due to an injury. They also were facing one of the best defensive lines in the country on the other side, but they did not play well in this game whatsoever. Michigan allowed four sacks and 10 tackles for loss, and that's just way too many negative plays to get anything going as an offense.
Marky Walbridge was making his first career start as a true freshman and he looked overwhelmed for much of the game. Evan Link and Jake Guarnera played decently as individuals, but the other three positions on Michigan's offensive line all played very poorly.
I'm not even sure where they go from here as an offensive line other than trying to get healthy. Maybe it's time to start looking at some young guys in Andrew Babalola and Avery Gach as alternative options. If the veterans are going to play this poorly you might as well try the younger players who might have more upside at their respective positions.
Michigan cornerback Smith Snowden celebrates a play against Indiana | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Another stock up, another defensive back and this time it's the nickel back Smith Snowden. He had Michigan's only sack in this game and it came on a big third down to force a punt too.
He was also good in coverage as Indiana tried to move Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker around in the slot to try to get a different matchup because they weren't having success on the outside against Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill. Smith Snowden was able to stick with those guys in the slot, which is a really tough place to have to cover them.
It's hard to overstate just how good Michigan's defensive backs played in this game, as they held Indiana's passing offense to 81 yards through the air and Josh Hoover had a QBR of 22.6, which as you can imagine is quite poor. It's such a shame their effort still ended in a loss for the Wolverines.
Another stock down, another offensive player (or in this case two). Neither Jordan Marshall or Savion Hiter could get going in this game. The two combined for 22 carries for 41 yards, good for just 1.8 yards per carry.
It wasn't totally their fault as the offensive line and play calling were far bigger issues, but to have two of their best offensive players combine for this low of outputs isn't anywhere near good enough. Michigan's offense clearly needs more production out of these two players if they're going to get anything going offensively in the second half of the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/michigan as Michigan Wolverines Stock Report: 3 Players Rising, Three Falling After Loss to Indiana .
