Michigan had just 30 yards rushing in the first half against Penn State. It was, sadly for the Wolverines, par for the course in 2026, despite years of being a dominant rushing team. But in the second half, everything changed.
Tommy Carr came in at quarterback, and suddenly, the maize and blue put up 174 yards on the ground. That was the preseason expectation: that Michigan would run like that, but it didn't come to fruition until this one half against the Nittany Lions.
On Wednesday, running backs coach Tony Alford explained, in his estimation, what changed for the Wolverines and what went right against PSU in Week 7.
"I think it's a multitude of things," Alford said. "First, we've got to stop getting behind the chains, right? I mean, first and
second down efficiency, you've got to be good. All of a sudden, you're behind the chains. Had a lot of bring-it-outs, had turnovers, had a multitude of things. We've had some other runs that have happened early in the season. We had some penalties, bring them back. So it's been a multitude of stuff, if you will. But it was good in the second half, had some runs pop open for us -- second half, I thought it was good."
One of the big talking points in recent weeks has been the struggles of the run game on the perimeter, which offensive coordinator Jason Beck has seemed to prefer. But given that Michigan has dominated through the years running north and south, many questioned if more downhill runs would solve some of the issues.
Alford confirmed that Michigan changed its plan and started attacking between the tackles and that was part of why the run game was able to take off in the second half against Penn State.
"I feel it's getting better," Alford said. "And schematically, not trying to run around everything all the time. There's been some more downhill runs, and the zone concept, which these guys have had success with in the past -- our players, I'll speak of. So yeah, we implemented some of that more than we had in previous weeks. And it worked out in the second half, so hopefully we can do that."
While it was good and well to be able to run on the Nittany Lions, it will be a different animal altogether with Indiana coming to town. The Hoosiers will be the best run defense Michigan has seen to date, as they allow just over 75 yards per game and are ranked fourth in the country.
Alford spoke on the challenge that IU poses, and it starts with a dominant defensive front.
"First of all, those two guys they have in there, Tucker and Landino, the two interior players, are really good players, dynamic players," Alford said. "They're strong, they're big. And then they're coached exceptionally well. They've got a great coaching staff at Indiana. Coach Cignetti has put together an amazing staff. Those kids have had a lot of success, obviously, and a lot of confidence. But it's an extremely good defense, particularly the front seven. So we'll have our work cut out for us, definitely."
Michigan and Indiana are set to kick off at 12:10 p.m. EDT at The Big House, with the game set to be televised on Fox.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Tony Alford reveals what changed for Michigan's rushing attack
