Indiana Hoosiers

Michigan Football Game Balls: Snow Don't Fall on Summer's Time

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Michigan football had to beat Indiana and the elements in a 20-10 win. Here are the game balls from the Wolverines win over the Hoosiers.

Even with the biggest snow of the season dampening the sound, the crowd in Michigan stadium still managed to thunder “beat Ohio!” after it was clear that next week’s game in Columbus will be the most meaningful for Michigan football in a decade. This game against Indiana was the final hurdle that Jim Harbaugh and company had to clear before setting their sights squarely on the Buckeyes.

In reality, Michigan football and Ohio State have been playing each other since about seven weeks into the season (that both teams have a loss is coincidental, I’m sure). There were questions about putting too much on tape, putting decoy plays on tape, rolling out different packages and sets against live but inferior competition to see what could work in the last game of the season.

Still, Indiana didn’t go down without a fight, but Michigan managed to stay focused enough on this week to notch a 20-10 victory in the snow. There was about as much offensive production as you’d expect from an offense playing behind a backup quarterback in the snow against a good defense, and the defense was its usual excellent self so, naturally, there are some game balls to hand out.

De’Veon Smith

It’s always nice when seniors have big games on senior day, and Smith had himself a ballgame. He went for a career high 158 yards on 23 carries and scored twice. The rest of the Michigan footbal team managed 126 yards and no touchdowns; that’s Denard-level putting the team on your back.

After the offense finally showed a little spark in the form of a thirty yard John O’Korn scramble on third and eight, Smith took a handoff to the house on the next play from 39 yards out:

Michigan fans could exhale a little bit after that play. This game was starting to look a little too much like last week for comfort, but, unlike last week, someone made a game-breaking play and the team never looked back.

Smith is who he is: a plodding moose that can cut back and follow blockers; he’s also the team’s most reliable back, which is why we saw so much of him today. He doesn’t make dumb mistakes, he almost never loses yards, and he’s great in pass protection. All of that was on display today in what was probably the best performance of his career. His teammates seemed to appreciate how good he was, too:

Jourdan Lewis

I’ll never understand it, but teams really do keep throwing at Lewis. Indiana tried sneak a pass by him five times today, by my rough count, and he allowed one short completion on a quick slant. The rest of the targets weren’t even close to being completed.

He also had two pass breakups, putting his career total at 43 (!), tying Leon Hall for the most in program history. If you think about the corners that Michigan has produced over the years, that seems like a monumental achievement. It also seems kind of crazy that Leon Hall holds the record.

He does everything and he does everything well, which is something that you just don’t get to say very often in college football. When it’s all said and done, he should go down as one of the two or three best corners in program history.

Ben Gedeon

Gedeon paced the team in tackles again today with nine, bringing his total to 93 on the season, thirty more than he number two tackler Jabrill Peppers.

The linebackers have struggled (relative term) over the past few weeks, but they looked good today. The coaching staff seems to have adjusted to the weaknesses on the edge by bringing more help to Mike McCray’s side. That means Gedeon needs to be even more reliable up the middle and occasionally get to the sideline to protect against a backside cut.

He did both today, causing constant problems for an Indiana offense that thrives on getting their opponents off balance. Speaking of that, Indiana is probably the toughest team on the schedule for the defensive playcallers, of which Gedeon is one. We’ve seen IU’s tempo completely discombobulate Michigan in years past, but they looked solid today.

Linebackers become important against read option teams because they usually have to make a decision to go inside or outside on every play, which in turn dictates the direction the play will head. They end up having to set the edge or pursue for the backside cut or hand off on every play, so it was encouraging to see the entire group play well, Gedeon in particular.

He also made a hell of a play on the first snap of the game, perfectly timing an A Gap blitz and blowing up an Indiana option in the backfield. In a season of pleasant surprises, Gedeon is one of the most pleasant and he continues to improve.

And finally, to celebrate Senior Day, here are some players playing in the snow after the game:

Game Ball Count

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