ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Entering Saturday, Michigan football wasn't really supposed to be in the game against Indiana. After all, it was starting a true freshman quarterback in Tommy Carr against the defending national champion. The Hoosier defense, led by coordinator Bryant Haines, is aggressive, and the No. 9 attack in the country -- the second best that the Wolverines had seen all year behind No. 5 Oklahoma.
Carr was decent enough in his first career start, going 20-for-32 (63%) for 167 yards with a fumble and an interception. But he couldn't get into the end zone, and the Wolverines lost, 13-6, in overtime.
After the game, Carr blamed himself for the turnovers, noting that if those didn't happen, perhaps the game would have gone the other way.
"Just like all year, the defense was excellent," Carr said. "Got turnovers, got stops. I mean, held Indiana's offense to really nothing all day. And they got a field goal off of a turnover, so it all leads back to that. Can't turn the ball over. Both turnovers, completely on me, and just gotta get in the film room and work it out fast and try and get better."
But he wasn't exactly put into a position to succeed.
Three of Indiana's sacks came on third downs right as Michigan was set to score one way or another. The first one came near the end of the first half, with the Wolverines having a third-and-3 on the IU 23. Carr was sacked at the 35, and kicker Trey Butkowski missed the 53-yard field goal attempt. Then, on the opening drive of the second half, the Wolverines drove the field, got down to the one-yard line, and on a third-and-1, offensive coordinator Jason Beck called a play-action pass where Carr turned his back to the defense. As he turned back, the defender was there, and he went down on the 14-yard line. The third came on the final offensive play in regulation, a third-and-goal from the three.
As for the second of the three plays, Carr chalked it up to the IU defender being in the right position at the right time.
"Yeah, it was supposed to be a play action pass, and they just had the right call for it," Carr said. "The end charged right at me, blew it up, just a good call."
Carr notes that if the offense was a bit better, yes, Michigan could be undefeated right now. After all, the Wolverines are 4-3 with all three losses coming by one score. Along with the Iowa game in Week 4, this loss to Indiana was filled with opportunities that weren't taken advantage of. However, like that game, playcalling played a big role in the issues.
Regardless, Carr says he's learning on the job, and with that, that doesn't matter -- wins do.
"For sure, I think you learn from every play," Carr said. "But at the end of the day, that's a game that we expect ourselves to win. Like you said, no moral victories, but you eventually learn a lot from those games and just the mistakes, and you continue to try and get better."
Michigan will lick its wounds but next travels to New Jersey to face 2-5 Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan QB Tommy Carr takes blame for costly mistakes vs. Indiana