BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football isn’t going to roll out the red carpet for Tommy Carr.
According to multiple national outlets, the Michigan true freshman will get his first career start on Saturday against the No. 6 Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten). The Wolverines found a spark in a 21-18 win over Penn State by benching Bryce Underwood at halftime.
Carr, the grandson of Hall of Fame coach Llyod Carr, led Michigan to a comeback victory by orchestrating three scoring drives in the second half. He will likely get a hero's welcome at Michigan Stadium, but the good vibes might not last.
Indiana has dominated freshman quarterbacks with Bryant Haines running the show on defense.
“He's going to throw the kitchen sink at you,” Cignetti said during the 2025 season. “You are going to get four down, three down, bear, odd packages, blitzes, a lot of different stuff. It evolves every year, every week.”
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That’s a lot for a freshman quarterback to handle, especially one with only 10 career pass attempts under his belt.
Since 2024, the Hoosiers are 6-0 against first- and second-year freshmen. They have a 3-0 record against true freshmen with wins over Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, Wisconsin’s Carter Smith and Maryland’s Malik Washington.
Their combined numbers paint a clear picture of what they experienced going up against Haines’ defense. They combined for 574 yards on 58.8% passing with two touchdowns and six interceptions. Indiana had four sacks and a 42.1% pressure rate (40 pressures on 95 dropbacks).
The numbers were remarkably similar when factoring in those additional starts against redshirt freshmen.
During Cignetti's tenure in Bloomington, opposing freshmen quarterbacks have a combined 62.6 completion percentage with more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (four). The Hoosiers pressure rate held steady at 41.5% with 13 sacks on 176 dropbacks.
“Just preparing physically and mentally to go to war,” Indiana defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker said of Michigan’s quarterback situation. “And to go to battle and be ready and prepared for whatever they throw at us.”
Indiana took notice of Carr’s athleticism in their early film sessions.
Carr had success on a handful of designed runs against Penn State that opened things up for the Wolverines rushing attack. He had a 22-yard gain on a keeper up the middle on Michigan’s longest drive of the game and later scored on an option running play.
With Underwood under center, Michigan rushed for 37 yards. They added 174 yards on the ground (7.6 yards per carry) after Carr entered the game.
“Tommy is a very good runner,” Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham told reporters on Monday. “He's deceptively fast. And when you look at the measurables, the short shuttle, the long shuttle, all the things you do at the combine, Tommy's numbers are one of the best on the team.”
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That doesn’t mean IU will face a simplified Michigan game plan. According to Whittingham, the Wolverines will have the “full playbook” at their disposal on Saturday, despite Carr’s inexperience. Cignetti said he wouldn’t even be surprised if Michigan added a few new wrinkles, like rolling out both quarterbacks at once like Whittingham’s staff did at Utah.
Michigan enters the game with the No. 125th ranked pass offense in the FBS (165.7 yards per game). Carr was 5 of 7 against Penn State for 47 yards.
“There's not a quarterback that I've ever been around that studies any more than Tommy Carr,” Whittingham said. “And his football IQ is off the charts. He's got a football mind. He's a football junkie. And he is a real student of the game.”
Indiana's goal is to get the same kind of defensive performance it got against Ohio State.
“The defense rose to the occasion (against the Buckeyes), let's face it, it was a big contest and our defense played well, played really well,” Cignetti said. “I thought it was an outstanding effort and we're going to need another one this week.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Why Michigan’s QB decision opens up clear advantage for Indiana football