Michigan sets up high-stakes edition of The Game with comeback win over Hoosiers

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Next weekend is going to be something else.

Third-ranked Michigan ensured a high-stakes battle against second-ranked Ohio State in next week's edition of The Game with a 20-10 win over Indiana on Saturday in Ann Arbor.

The win sent the Wolverines to a 10-1 record, the same mark as the Buckeyes, and the two rivals will meet with a potential trip to the College Football Playoff on the line.

Saturday, Michigan actually needed a comeback to best Indiana, which held a 7-3 lead at halftime thanks to a go-ahead Camion Patrick touchdown run in the second quarter.

The Wolverines stumbled on offense early behind backup quarterback John O'Korn, who played in the absence of starter Wilton Speight. Michigan struggled on that side of the ball last weekend in the upset loss to Iowa.

But things turned around after halftime. The sides traded field goals, the Hoosiers holding a 10-6 lead on the Wolverines when O'Korn busted off a 30-yard run on third down to breath life into the Michigan offense. De'Veon Smith then took over, going 34 yards on the very next play for a go-ahead touchdown. Two drives later, Smith broke off a 39-yard touchdown scamper to make it 20-10.

Given the way the Michigan defense played, the double-digit margin pretty much put the game on ice, even with an entire quarter left to play. The Wolverines held the Hoosiers to just 114 total yards after halftime, just 13 on the ground.

Michigan finished with 284 total yards, getting 225 of those via the run. Smith was phenomenal with 158 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. O'Korn, clearly not giving free reign by Jim Harbaugh, completed only seven passes for 59 yards.

For Indiana, Richard Lagow completed 14 passes for 191 yards. Devine Redding had only 50 yards on 22 carries.

The win boosted Michigan to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Should the Wolverines defeat the aforementioned Buckeyes next weekend in Columbus, they will advance to the Big Ten Championship Game, and a win there would surely punch a ticket to the Playoff. A loss, though, would almost certainly mean no Playoff trip for Michigan. So the stakes are mighty high in the regular-season finale.

Indiana dropped to 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten with the loss. The Hoosiers need a win in their regular-season finale against Purdue to reach bowl eligibility.

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