Michigan vs Indiana Prediction 11/9/24 11/9/24 Game Information

Michigan vs Indiana Preview

Upstart Indiana (9-0, 6-0 in Big Ten) welcomes FBS defending national champions Michigan (5-4, 3-3 in Big Ten) to The Rock on Saturday afternoon for a massive Big Ten Conference game for first-year Head Coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers. The College Football Playoffs (CFP) came out and undefeated Indiana (No. 8 CFP) made the top 12 and would be in this first-year CFP if the season ended today. Three other Big Ten heavyweights also made the top 12—new members Oregon (#1), Ohio State (#2), and Penn State (#6)—so maybe we will see four of these Power 4 conference schools playing in the tournament from Friday, December 20, 2024 to Monday, January 20, 2024 in what will be the best month of NCAA College Football ever. The big game for Indiana will come in two weeks when the Hoosiers are at No. 2 Ohio State in a game it could possibly lose and still make the CFP should IU beat Michigan here and state rivals Purdue in their Regular Season finale in Bloomington on November 30.

Michigan Can Play Spoilers at The Rock Saturday

If you heard that there would be four Big Ten teams in the top eight in the first-ever CFP rankings, you would have assumed that Michigan (3-7 ATS L10, 6-4-0 O/U L10) would have been one of them. But this is the season of Indiana’s evolution and the Wolverines lost an awful lot of talent from last year’s squad and coaching staff with QB JJ McCarthy (Vikings), RB Blake Corum (Rams), and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh (Chargers) all now in the NFL plying their gridiron wares. Michigan also saw QB Jack Tuttle decide to retire from football on October 28 after suffering so many concussions. Now Davis Warren (731 passing yards, 5 TD, 6 interceptions) is the man behind center in Ann Arbor and RB Kalci Mullings (710 rushing yards, 7 TD), and WR Colston Loveland (523 receiving yards, 4 TD) his main weapons, so this team’s offense is way less productive than it was in 2023-24. In their last game, the Wolverines lost to top-ranked Oregon, 38-17 and failed to cover as 14.5-point Home Underdogs in a game that went Over the low 45 Total. This will just be Michigan’s third Road game of the 2024-25 season.

Michigan Betting Trends

• Michigan has scored 17 or fewer points in its 4 losses (12, 17, 7, 17) 
• The Wolverines are 0-2 SU/ATS on the Road this season
• Michigan is 9-1 SU the last 10 series meetings vs Indiana (4-5-1 ATS)
• The last 6 winners of this game have won by at least 11 points 
• The Wolverines are 11-4 on the First Half Moneyline in the last 15

Indiana Much Better with the James Madison Influence 

Indiana (8-1 ATS, 7-2 O/U) has been a cash cow against the betting number as well as for Over bettors this season. Why such an improvement in Bloomington this season? A huge part of the reason is new HC Cignetti who came from James Madison and brought an amazing 13 transfer with him including DE Mikail Kamara (Big Ten-leading 14.5 Tackles for Loss and 9.5 Sacks) and WR Elijah Sarratt (37 receptions, 649 yards, 5 TD, 17.5 ypc). With QB Kurtis Rourke (2,204 passing yards, 19 TD, 3 Interceptions), RBs Justice Ellison (669 rushing yards, 9 TD, 6.0 ypc) and Ty Son Lawton (453 rushing yards, 9 TD, 4.8 ypc), WR Omar Cooper Jr. (474 receiving yards, 4 TD, 22.6 ypc), and LB Aiden Fisher (84 tackles), the Hoosiers are absolutely loaded this season. In Week 10 play, Indiana rallied from a 10-0 deficit in the 1st Quarter to outscore Michigan State 47-0 in a 47-10 win in East Lansing, keeping this perfect season intact.

Indiana Betting Trends

• Indiana is a perfect 6-0 SU at Home in Bloomington
• The Hoosiers are 10-1 in the First Half Moneyline over the last 11 games
• Indiana has won 8 straight games ATS 
• The Hoosiers are No. 2 in the nation in Scoring Offense (46.6 ppg)
• The Over is 7-1 in Indiana’s last 8 games

Michigan vs Indiana Prediction 

After a scare at Michigan State last week and remembering a 52-7 loss to Michigan last season at Ann Arbor, expect Rourke—off a successful thumb surgery—and Indiana to get off to a better start at Home with a rabid and supportive crowd and forecast 63° temperatures in Bloomington. With five very good WRs—Sarratt, Cooper Jr, Myles Price (361 yards, 2 TD, 12.9 ypc), Miles Cross (289 yards, 3 TD, 12.9 ypc), Ke’Shawn Williams (271 yards, 4 TD, 12.9 ypc)—two productive RBs and two good QBs, Indiana (35/1 to win CFP, DraftKings) now has the kind of depth on offense teams can only dream about.

And the defense ain’t too bad either (13.7 ppg, #7 Scoring Defense). This Michigan vs Indiana prediction and free college football pick calls for the Hoosiers to score between 35 and 38 with the Wolverines topping out at 20. Expect Michigan to try to slow the game down but with Ohio State up next on the schedule, the Hoosiers will want to stay in a groove and improve to 10-0 and their passing attack has just been too damn good.

Kevin’s Pick: Indiana -14.5