Indiana signed on for two more years of the Crossroads Classic this week. It’s a move, coach Tom Crean said, that changes some non-conference scheduling.“We’re going to play a neutral game in Indianapolis.BLOOMINGTON – Indiana football coach Bill Lynch has watched film of Michigan’s four games.
He’s seen the four approaches teams have taken to try to slow down Denard Robinson, the Wolverines’ quarterback.
None has succeeded.
“Denard Robinson is scary good,” Lynch said.
The Hoosiers will be the latest team faced with the task of tackling Robinson when IU (3-0) faces No. 19 Michigan (4-0) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“One of the unique things with Denard is that in so many situations, he’s the lead runner,” Lynch said. “The tailback or the other back is really the blocking back. And that is what makes it difficult because the quarterback in many cases is the unaccounted-for guy. And now you have to account for him as well as everybody else like a group of receivers that can really get down the field in a hurry. That’s why it is very difficult to defend their offense.”
Robinson leads the nation in rushing, averaging 172 yards per game. He is second nationally in total offense, averaging 354.8 yards per game.
“We saw glimpses with Denard last year, and we knew he was going to be an outstanding player, he and (backup quarterback) Tate (Forcier) both,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I thought they both did a good job in the offseason getting better and it showed even more in the spring practice sessions.”
That has transferred to the regular season.
The highlights include shredding Notre Dame for 502 total yards of offense (258 rushing, 244 passing) in a 28-24 victory on Sept. 11. He finished with 129 rushing yards on just five carries in Saturday’s 65-21 victory against Bowling Green. Robinson scored two rushing touchdowns, giving him six on the season.
Robinson left the Bowling Green game early because of a knee injury. Rodriguez said earlier in the week that Robinson will be ready for Indiana.
“We just have to be fundamentally sound,” said Indiana defensive tackle Mick Mentzer, a Bishop Dwenger graduate. “We have schemes that can shut them down, we just have to run them and tackle. We can’t miss any tackles.”
Missed tackles were an issue in Saturday’s 35-20 win against Akron. The Zips averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Indiana is 10th in the Big Ten in rushing defense, giving up 177 yards per game.
“I think in a game like this, it is very important that we go back and work on fundamentals,” Lynch said. “So often, history tells me that when you get into creating new schemes in a week, then you play poorly because you are thinking too much instead of just playing. That’s why you must trust the system, and it goes back to great fundamental play. Obviously, we must ratchet up the intensity and execute better than we have, but we do have to trust our system and what we do.”
