Numbers back up Michigan football defense's dominance
Turnover in the coaching ranks often isn’t a good thing, especially at the coordinator positions — and especially after the previous Michigan D.C. was only there for a year. Learning new schemes, terminology, and personalities can take some time.
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Head coach Jim Harbaugh got a break, though, when Jesse Minter was available to replace Mike Macdonald as the Michigan defensive coordinator. The two worked together with the Baltimore Ravens and were similar in a lot of ways.
Through three wins in which U-M allowed only 17 total points, none in the first half against the first-team defense, it appears to have been a great move. The coaches feel the chemistry and the players do, too.
“I like our intensity,” junior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said after Michigan’s 59-0 win over UConn Sept. 17. “I like the juice we bring to the game in all aspects. I like how we’re able to stop the run. That’s one of our biggest things — canceling the run so we can be able to do more stuff on passing [downs] and open that up.
“We need to really work a lot on our keys and getting set up in all phases.”
Though the competition wasn’t very stiff in three games — UConn, a 51-7 win over Colorado State and a 56-10 victory over Hawai’i — they made the most of their opportunities.
“That’s the biggest thing our coaches have told us. No matter the team, no matter the opponent, give them your best,” Jenkins added. “Give them a hundred percent.
“You never want to underestimate a team or else you are setting yourself up for failure. We have seen occasions like that this season and in the past. We always want to come with our best.”
The non-conference couldn’t have gone much better in that respect. The Wolverines ranked tied for fourth nationally with Minnesota in points per game allowed with 5.67 and No. 1 in pass efficiency defense. They were second only to the Gophers (among teams that had played three games) in first downs allowed (33), and while they were only tied for 38th in rushing defense (102.7 yards per game), Minter’s group was tied for 11th in yards per rush (2.96).
The Wolverines had given up only 11 pass plays of 10 yards or more, tied with Iowa for third in the country, and had allowed only 25 percent success on third downs, tied for 14th.
And again, many of those stats came late in games when the backups were on the field. Harbaugh was pleased at how many players saw the field in the non-conference — 101 against UConn alone — and happy with how the run stoppers responded against a Huskies team that wanted to establish the ground game.
“I was really impressed with the run wall [against UConn],” he said after the win. “I had a feeling after we played two air raid team … UConn was good at running the ball, and they would really test us in that area. They did. I thought we really did a great job stopping the run, and also defending the pass at the same time.
“There was a real emphasis to stop the run this week. The amount of really good play in the secondary was obvious.”
Overall, it’s been good. Now it’s for real, though, in Big Ten play with Maryland up first.
