Michigan was able to pick up an ugly, 20-10 victory over Indiana on Saturday afternoon and the Wolverines can certainly claim that the close-fought nature of the proceedings had something to do with the snowstorm that rolled through Ann Arbor during the second half. However, Jim Harbaugh's team struggled violently to move the ball offensively, and some of that was due to the fact that the team was without starting quarterback Wilton Speight after the redshirt sophomore suffered an injury in the loss to Iowa a week prior.
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Speight was reportedly ruled out for the regular season as a result of a broken collarbone, but Harbaugh has been hesitant to buy in to that speculation and, after the win over the Hoosiers, Michigan's head coach certainly did not remove the possibility of Speight returning for the season finale against Ohio State (via MLive.com).
"He's day-to-day. We'll see (if he can practice early this week). It's day-to-day."
Transfer QB John O'Korn was at the helm for the game against Indiana, and while he made a big play with his feet to set up the team's first touchdown, it was an uneven performance. The former Houston standout completed just 7 of his 16 passes for a paltry 59 yards and, in general, Michigan's play-calling was highly conservative without Speight in the lineup.
During the ESPN broadcast of Michigan-Indiana, the announcers cited Harbaugh as referring to Speight as "minute-to-minute" in terms of status update and it has to be noted that Harbaugh is famous for showmanship. At the same time, Speight did warm up in full uniform prior to the game against the Hoosiers, and that would seem to indicate a favorable prognosis for the future.
Given the history of Harbaugh, it would be a shock if Speight's status was updated prior to kick-off, but all eyes will be on the field in Columbus next Saturday and Michigan's chances of victory skyrocket if the starting quarterback is able to play without restriction.
