Don't Look Back in Anger

It's not necessarily a metaphor, BUT... (Michigan Athletics)

"Slip inside the eye of your mind
Don't you know you might find
A better place to play?
You said that you'd never been
But all the things that you've seen
Slowly fade away"

--"Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis, the fourth single off of the 1995 album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

I don't really think there's that much left to be said about this season.  The most interesting thing about this game was that Michigan was in it for far longer than I think anyone nationally or locally expected.  A full credit to the Michigan defense for stepping up in a spot despite still being without Will Johnson.  Holding a very explosive Indiana team to 246 yards and 20 points feels like an accomplishment and one that a team with even a moderately functional offense could have taken advantage of in some way to secure the win.

But when Zeke Berry gives you the utter gift of an early third quarter interception at the IU 7 and you move the ball exactly four yards with an uninspired set of run calls, forcing you to settle for a field goal, well, it wasn't the harbinger that this was not going to be your day, but it does not help.  The reality is reasonable to see in the quantum reality where Michigan gets a touchdown there.  Now it's 17-10 Indiana.  Michigan still gets its field goal (17-13 IU) and on the touchdown, doesn't go for 2, they kick the extra points and Michigan takes a 21-17 lead.  When Indiana gets the ball back, now they have to drive the field for a touchdown, and maybe they do, and maybe they don't, they really had not been under that kind of pressure all year, but maybe Michigan finds a way to pull it off.  But it was not to be.  It's all the same problems, but with new and maddening wrinkles, like Sherrone Moore's failure to immediately call a time out after the first Lawson run when Indiana was in run out the clock mode.  Mistakes are being made all over the team and it's so frustrating, especially because this team is not good enough to overcome basic mistakes.

But a week off and a now titanic Big House showdown with a likely 4-6 Northwestern team that will, more than likely, be coming off a loss to Ohio State at Wrigley in order to see if Michigan can get bowl eligible.  It's the reality that has been staring Michigan in the face since the conclusion of the Washington game and knowing it's the truth does not make it any less frustrating.  We'll just have to hope Michigan can put enough together against the Wildcats to squeak into the post-season.

Tales from the Spreadsheet

• 20-15 is not a Scorigami, this is the third occurrence, joining 1959 Missouri and 1967.)
• 53,082 were in attendance (the largest Memorial Stadium crowd for a Michigan/Indiana game ever.)
  
  
• Michigan moves to 62-11 all-time against Indiana University.
• Michigan moves to 11-8-0 all-time on November 9 (the previous November 9 losses include 2013 Nebraska, 1996 at Purdue, and a 4-0 loss to Harvard in 1895.)
  
  
• Michigan moves to 7-9-0 when scoring exactly 15 points.
• Michigan moves to 24-21-1 all-time when allowing 20 points to the opposition.
• Michigan has lost 11 games all-time by precisely 5 points, most recently, the 2012 Ohio State game, where we learned Brady Hoke teams had a weird knack for keeping it close against superior Ohio State teams.