Right now, Michigan football can’t be stopped and its fans seem to know that

Perhaps all this dominance is getting a little boring for Michigan football fans.

So many of them left before the Wolverines completed their latest conquest Saturday that the painted Block M stretching across the east side bleachers gradually became visible to the remaining audience watching this one-sided affair until the very end. The 52-7 annihilation of Indiana offered another reminder these are strange times in Ann Arbor, where Michigan must find creative ways to entertain its legions of supporters as it goes about ravaging its competition.

The Wolverines, of course, did their best to put on a show. Under light rain and a blanket of gray, J.J. McCarthy played with his usual flair, running and throwing while sometimes doing a little of each on the same play.

Take for instance his 54-yard touchdown strike to Colston Loveland in the third quarter that made it 28-7. He dodged an oncoming tackler, scrambled to his right and lofted a pinpoint pass to the sophomore tight end that sent him on his way to the end zone, where the crowd met him with boisterous cheers.

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It was the piece de resistance of a scintillating performance, when McCarthy shook off a few early sacks to post a gorgeous stat line: 14 completions on 17 attempts for 222 yards and three scores.

McCarthy cobbled together that masterpiece while Michigan’s destructive defense rampaged.

After it conceded a rare touchdown on a wide receiver pass that fooled them, the Wolverines surrendered 96 yards and no points on Indiana’s final eight possessions. Michigan was relentless, sending waves of pressure once they figured out new offensive coordinator Rod Carey’s plan of attack. They intercepted Indiana’s Tayven Jackson twice and recovered a pair of forced fumbles to boot. Michael Barrett’s hit that jarred the ball loose from Jackson in the third quarter was particularly vicious, delighting the Michigan faithful. They roared with approval, reveling in the sheer supremacy of Michigan that has come to be expected.

“Coach always says, ‘We’re in the (butt)-kicking business,” Barrett said. “And business is booming.”

But Barrett, a sixth-year old-head who emits coolness, knows it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

He was on the team in 2020, when Michigan bottomed out and lost to the Hoosiers for the first time in 33 years. That loss, as debilitating as it was, wasn’t as shocking as it should have been because the Wolverines had been pushed to the brink of defeat twice before, in 2015 and 2017. By then, Indiana had become a bit of nuisance during the first epoch of the Jim Harbaugh era.

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“They’re fighters,” Harbaugh reminded his team earlier this week.

But that was then, and this is now. These days, Indiana — like the rest of the Big Ten chaff — stands no chance against the mighty Wolverines. Harbaugh, with a staff of young assistants that he has come to adore, has transformed Michigan into a juggernaut that beats up on its lesser foes.

As Loveland said, “We want to be the bully.”

While winning 32 of their last 35 games, they have been. Over the course of that remarkable run, they have grown stronger and more imposing. The Wolverines have surpassed 30 points in their last 10 contests, which is a program record. This season, they have surrendered just 47, the fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Collectively, the team has committed only 16 penalties in seven games, offering compelling evidence of its ruthless efficiency. Michigan has become so fundamentally good that its minor imperfections are easy to spot and correct.

“We’re all just jelling together,” Barrett said.

It was seen on Saturday after a slow start. Two consecutive three-and-out possessions gave way to eight straight scoring drives as Michigan ran roughshod over the hapless Hoosiers. McCarthy pierced them repeatedly. Loveland dealt them a series of blows with three devastating catches. Barrett & Co. showed no mercy, wrecking them with one deflating stop after another during an afternoon when Michigan produced eight tackles for loss and four sacks.

As they stripped Indiana to the bone, Michigan could sense the Hoosiers were nearing capitulation.

“We started seeing some of their passion diminish,” safety Keon Sabb said.

“That’s kind of my favorite feeling — when you can kind of feel that extra oomph go away,” Barrett added. “To get to the point where they’re just like, ‘Let’s go home.’”

The fans understood what he meant.

For different reasons, they too wanted to leave the Big House on a soggy October afternoon when the only home game of the month was held.

While their favorite team has become one to celebrate, Michigan is now so darn good that it has made these special Saturdays in the fall seem tedious. Wake them up when an opponent can challenge the Wolverines. So far, in 2023, none of them have.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football can’t be stopped and its fans seem to know that