Three Indiana Hoosiers to watch this weekend against Michigan

The Hawkeyes kept it close at Kinnick last Saturday, but the Michigan Wolverines prevailed and head to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers at 5-0.

Indiana is a far cry from what it was a couple seasons ago when it contended for a Big Ten Championship appearance. A lot has changed since then, and the Hoosiers now sit at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. It has been a bit of a struggle the last couple weeks for them, so Michigan should be able to walk out of Indiana with a victory.

But in the event things get a little crazy, these are the three players to watch for on Indiana that could cause some problems on Saturday.

QB Connor Bazelak

Indiana has played in plenty of shootouts this season, and because of that it has abandoned the run pretty early in games. Connor Bazelak, the starting quarterback who transferred from Missouri, has thrown 246 times already this year. In their loss to Cincinnati a couple weeks ago, he threw 66 times. Last week against Nebraska, he threw 44 passes.

Now, just because he’s thrown a lot doesn’t mean it’s been efficient. Bazelak has completed only 52.8 percent of his passes this season, and has just eight touchdowns to five interceptions. However, he’s kept his teams in games and brought them back from significant deficits against Idaho, Western Kentucky and Illinois.

Michigan should be able to pull away early in this game, but it needs to be sure to not allow the same thing to happen. There should be no reason the game this weekend is close. If it is, Bazelak will be a big part of that.

WR Cam Camper

We’ve talked about how much Indiana has had to throw the ball this season; most times, Cam Camper is on the other end of those throws from Bazelak. In four games, the community college transfer receiver has two double-digit reception games, both surpassing the century mark in receiving yards.

Now, Camper did not play in last week’s game against Nebraska. It’s unclear if he will play this weekend or not, but he is a big threat if he does. In the event he is not able to suit up, Indiana will look at a couple other transfers at the receiver position — D.J. Matthews Jr. and Emery Simmons.

Edge Dasan McCullough

McCullough is a true freshman and was a top-75 recruit in the 2022 class, making him the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with the Hoosiers. Once an Ohio State commit, McCullough flipped after his dad became the running backs coach under Tom Allen.

The Bloomington native is off to a hot start in the 2022 campaign, racking up 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and two quarterback hurries. At this point, he may be the best past rusher the Wolverines will have seen.

McCollough is one of the few guys for Indiana who can consistently get to the quarterback. It will be important for Michigan’s offensive line to protect J.J. McCarthy and allow him to move the ball through the air on the road.