Indiana Football vs Michigan: Key players, notes and opening spread

Indiana football travels to Ann Arbor to face the number two ranked Michigan Wolverines at The Big House this Saturday.

Michigan comes into this one with a record of 6-0 with wins against Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Bowling Green, UNLV, and East Carolina.

Kickoff is set for Noon ET on Saturday and the game will be broadcasted on FOX.

Here is a look at some of the key players, notes and the opening spread.

Key players

QB JJ McCarthy: The junior quarterback is in his second year as the starter for Michigan after leading them to the College Football Playoff a year ago. The 6-foot-3 202-pounder QB is an accurate passer who can extend plays with his feet outside of the pocket being effective as both a passer and runner. He has 38 career passing touchdowns and 10 career rushing touchdowns. In six games this season, McCarthy has a 77.6 percent completion percentage, third in the NCAA, passing for 1,305 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has 133 yards and three touchdowns as a runner.

RB Blake Corum: The senior running back is coming off a season where he was a first team All-American selection after totaling 1,543 total yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards-per-carry. The Virginia native, committed to Michigan as a four-star recruit and has had 1,000 scrimmage yards each of the last two seasons. The 5-foot-8 213-pound back is a big play waiting to happen, using his combination of strength and agility to make defenders miss. Corum is off to a hot start this year, in six games he has 83 carries for 494 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns — leading the nation in that category.

RB Donovan Edwards: The Junior running back is the other half of this two-headed Michigan rushing attack. The West Bloomfield, MI native stayed home, committing to the Wolverines as a top-five running back in his recruiting class. Edwards totaled 1,191 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Edwards has great burst and is a very good route runner out of the backfield. The 6-foot-1 210-pound running back is off to a slow start in 2023, totaling 305 yards and no scores while averaging 3.5 yards per carry in six games. But, he does have 16 catches for 128 yards, third a fourth on the team respectively. He has at least four catches in three games.

WR Roman Wilson: The Hawaiian senior is off to his best start of collegiate career, taking a much bigger role in the Michigan passing attack in year four. In his first three years, Wilson has totaled 918 receiving yards on 59 catches and 10 total touchdowns. The 6-f00t-0 192-pound receiver has become a favorite target of JJ McCarthy, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2023. In six games, Wilson has 22 catches for 382 yards and eight touchdowns. His eight touchdowns are second in the nation.

WR Cornelius Johnson: Johnson is a graduate student in his fifth year with the Wolverines after committing to the program as a four-star recruit (according to ESPN and 247sports). In his first four seasons, Johnson has totaled 91 catches for 1,434 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 6-foot-3 208-pound receiver has good speed and is a threat to stretch a defense over the top vertically. In six games this season, the Connecticut native is second on the team in receptions and yards, totaling 357 receiving yards on 18 catches and one touchdown for the Wolverines. He has had at least 71 receiving yards in four of six games and at least one catch of 20-plus yards in five games.

EDGE Josaiah Stewart: The junior edge rusher transferred to Michigan after spending his first two seasons with Coastal Carolina. As a freshman, Stewart had 13 sacks while playing as an interior defensive lineman where he was named to the All-Sun Belt first team. In his two years with Coastal Carolina, Stewart totaled 26 tackles-for-loss and 16.5 sacks and while forcing four fumbles. The 6-foot-1 245-pound pass rusher has been extremely productive early into his Michigan tenure. In six games with the Wolverines defense, he has 16 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks on the season.

LB Junior Colson: The junior linebacker is coming off an impressive 2022 season where he led the Wolverines defense in tackles. He had 101 total tackles, six tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Colson committed to the Wolverines as a consensus four-star recruit from Brentwood, TN. The 6-foot-3 247-pound linebacker is very good against the run and often makes plays in the backfield. In six games in 2023, Colson is the team’s leading tackler with 27 total tackles and two tackles-for-loss on the season. 

DL Kris Jenkins: The senior defensive lineman was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2022 after recording 54 total tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks. The 6-foot-3 305-pound defensive lineman was a consensus three-star recruit who committed to Michigan from Maryland. Jenkins is a secure tackler and uses his size and footwork to fill gaps against the run. In six games in 2023, he has 16 total tackles, three tackles-for-loss, one sack and an interception.

DB Mikey Sainristil: Sainristil is a graduate student in his fifth year with the Wolverines defense after originally committing as a three-star wide receiver from Massachusetts. The fifth year DB totaled 37 receptions for 539 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver before converting to cornerback. In his first full year at defensive back, the 5-foot-10 182-pounder totaled 58 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception and seven pass breakups. In six games in 2023, Sainristil has 13 total tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions including one for a touchdown and two pass breakups.

Other Notable Players: 

LaDarius Henderson, LT Grad.

Zak Zinter, RG Sr.

Quinten Johnson, DB Grad.

Ernest Hausmann, LB So.

Colston Loveland, TE So.

Key Notes

• Indiana football is 10-61 against Michigan all time
• Indiana football has lost 26 of the past 27 games against the Wolverines
• The last meeting took place October 8, 2022 where Michigan beat Indiana 31-10
• Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is 7-1 against Indiana
• Michigan has won 22 consecutive regular season games
• Michigan has won the last two Big Ten Championships
• Harbaugh is 77–25 since taking over at Michigan in 2015
• Michigan has an average scoring margin of +30.7 this season, the third-highest in the country
• Michigan has scored 30-plus points in nine straight games

Spread

• Indiana football opened as 34.5-pt underdogs and an the O/U opened at 49.5.

SEE ALSO: Indiana Quick Hitters: Early breakdown and initial thoughts on Michigan

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.