Indiana survives against Michigan with 13-6 OT win in grueling defensive snoozefest

A week after its 22-game win streak was snapped , Indiana has bounced back with a 13-6 overtime victory over Michigan in the Big House and proved that ugly wins count all the same.

With Indiana held scoreless in the second half, Michigan had multiple promising drives that could have given them a lead. Instead, the Hoosiers' defense forced the Wolverines to settle for two field goals, including one in the final seconds of regulation. Michigan kicker Trey Butkowski, who had two field goal misses earlier in the matchup, was able to sink the 26-yard attempt to sent the game to overtime.

After showing off a deeply ineffective offense throughout regulation, Hoosiers quarterback Josh Hoover found the end zone shockingly fast once overtime began: Hoover's 21-yard pass to Brock Schott set the quarterback up to run in a touchdown on the next play.

That forced Michigan to score a touchdown to keep the game alive — something its offense had been unable to do all game. True freshman quarterback Tommy Carr, in his first start over the benched Bryce Underwood, ran for a crucial fourth-down conversion to keep the drive going, but he couldn't get a completion on the next set of downs.

The final incompletion was enough to secure the overtime win for the Hoosiers, who move to 7-1 on the season.

Mistake-riddled performances from Tommy Carr, Josh Hoover

Both defenses held strong to make the game a low-scoring slugfest, keeping it anyone's game until well into the fourth quarter. At one point in the final frame, the two defenses forced four consecutive three-and-out drives, making it feel like literally any completed pass could be a complete game-changer.

Both teams were forced into a number of offensive mistakes, with two interceptions, three missed field goals and 12 combined punts. Michigan recorded 224 total offensive yards; Indiana had 212. Both had third-down conversion rates around 30%.

Carr had a difficult game in his first start, losing a fumble, taking four sacks and throwing a tough interception. But even with the mistakes, the true freshman showed a little bit of promise, going 20-for-32 on passing for 167 and making some solid throws — though with no touchdowns.

Still, Carr and the Wolverines kept feeling like they were shooting themselves in the foot, especially with some of those promising chances in the second half. After coming out of halftime with renewed vigor, Carr strung together a 14-play drive that should have resulted in a touchdown, but Michigan couldn't push through the final yards, settling for a field goal — which Butkowski totally shanked with his second miss of the game. They had a second chance soon afterward, with Zeke Berry picking off Hoover on the next drive, and still couldn't find the end zone.

Hoover, meanwhile, had his worst game of the season and possibly his college career, going 8-of-18 on passing for 81 yards and throwing his first pick of the year to Berry. He did not complete a pass in the entire second half before overtime.

When speaking on the broadcast after the game, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti admitted that Hoover "wasn't 100% today," but seemed satisfied with the win, ugly as it was.

"We found a way. Not pretty, but it's a win," Cignetti said. "It was gritty as hell. It's a win, and we're gonna celebrate it."