For IU, a closer-than-expected victory over Michigan shows they can win the close ones, too

This wasn't the now-typical Hoosiers blowout, but that bodes well for the challenge they'll face in Columbus in two weeks.

They didn’t cover the spread.

Oh, the humanity!

IU, now 10-0 and on its way to a College Football Playoff berth, did something highly unusual in this year of the Hallelujah Hoosiers (patent pending): They played a close football game. They struggled. They produced 18 yards of second-half offense. They got taken to the edge.

Know what? It’s a good thing. It’s a great thing. It’s a necessary thing. After nine straight blowout victories by an average margin of 33 points, the Hoosiers were forced to find something sterner inside of themselves. Michigan has pros all over its front seven and IU ran headlong into them. The defending national champions don’t have close to the team they had last year, coming into Bloomington with a 5-4 record, but they still have elite talent in spots, and they forced the Hoosiers to make a late-game stop in order to preserve the 20-15 victory and the perfect season.

“Not many style points there,” Curt Cignetti said. “Not going to be many people banging the drum saying Indiana ought to be rated higher in the BCS and all that good stuff, but the Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 and have a week off, so Coach Cignetti has got a day off tomorrow.

“…For a while there, we had a hard time gaining three yards on offense. A lot of sacks. We weren't getting anything done. But defense would bend and not break, and we found a way to get it done.

“It tells you a lot about the resiliency of this team, its competitive character. At the end of the day, they all count as one, whether it's 72-6 or 3-2. They count as one. You know what? We're going to take the win over the Michigan Wolverines, and the Indiana Hoosiers will enjoy being undefeated for 24 hours.”