Michigan Defense Seven Games In

I'd like to know how each team looks statistically against B1G competition only. We've played some bad teams, but that's just the B1G, and the three are probably pretty typical B1G offenses this year. Considering Hoke's defenses seem to get better as the year goes on, this would be a more useful stat (and more fun to look at considering how good we've been in B1G play).

Can't ask for much better than that.

With a bye week under our belt, I can't help but wonder if we are better than 6th in the conference in run defense if you look at yds/game?  I would have expected we were in the top 3 for run defense... but maybe it's my maize colored glasses.

I'm kind of worried about this Nebraska game... at Lincoln, night game.... I just don't know. Jake Ryan is obviously a beast, but I think Nebraska will be a tough test. 

But that said, so far we've played as good as I could expect against ND + the big ten teams on the schedule. 

Greg Mattison is a miracle worker. I just can't wait until he gets his recruits developed. 

National Rankings:

Total Defense: 10th

Passing Defense: 4th

Passing Efficiency Defense: 15th

Scoring Defense: 16th

First Down Defense: 16th

All this managed with games against Alabama, and Air Force. If we had played cupcakes like everybody else our stats would be severely padded.

Our secondary has fared about how I expected, decent, shows signs that they could get burnt from time to time, but also responds well to coaching and has generally limited big plays.  The interior of the D-line has played better than I expected, especially after the first few games.  I'd still like to see Peewee get in there more as I think he's better than both BWC and Wash.  The ends have been ok...it would be nice to be able to get more pressure from 4 without having to blitz, but this wasn't exactly our strongsuit going into the season.  I did expect more pass rush out of Clark than he's given us so far.  The linebackers haver really shown a ton of improvement as the season has gone on.  I expected to see Ross and Bolden replace Demens and Morgan, but the older guys have really repsonded.  I really hope Taylor isn't seriously hurt.  Since the injury to Countess he has really saved us.  A second big secondary injury could hurt.  But, I am just really impressed by Jake Ryan.  He has not dissapointed ever since the spring game last year and just is a really good football player.  He's hard nosed, has a nose for the ball, has a good motor, never gives up on plays, always is around the football, and is just the kind of guy you'd like to have 11 of.  

With D-Rob, Fitz, Roundtree, & most of the O-line back from last year I thought for sure our offense would be our strong suit, but the defense is what has really kept us in close games when our offense is struggling (ND & MSU).  I think our D is good enough the win the B1G as long as we do what we did yesterday...limit turnovers and rush for more yards than our opponent.  The only team left that I think has the ability to challenge us in that regard is OSU.  I think MSU is our worst matchup on the conference schedule because they excel at stopping what we do best.  We still go to the championship even if we have one more conference loss somewhere down the road.

This defense is going robe GOOD next year. We lose Campbell (easily replaced by Pipkins), Demens (a little more difficult but Ross or Bolden have looked decent in their time this year and the freshman to sophomore jump will be huge for them especially with Mattison's coaching), Roh (SDE was his calling but our recent recruits have been getting high praise so I'm not worried) and Kovacs (huge loss but hopefully MRob comes along. He's looked ok in his time this year). Plus we get Countess back.

In all, I think every unit on defense will be significantly better with the exception of the secondary which should break even. I hate to look ahead with a potential big 10 championship in sight this year but man it feels good to see this team getting back to where it should be.

The Big Ten as a conference is now 88 games into the season overall, as you might know.

Looking at the conference stats on the NCAA Statistics site, we find the following - 

The average total yardage yielded by defenses on per game basis is 354 yards, compared to Michigan at 286 yards. 

The average passing defense in the Big Ten gives up 207 yards per game, compared to 143 yards for Michigan.

The average rushing defense in the Big Ten gives up 147 yards per game, compared to 143 yards for Michigan.

The average scoring defense in the Big Ten yields 22.6 points per game, compared to 16.4 for Michigan. At this point in the season,  the average team has surrendered 20 TDs, where Michigan is at 12 TDs, and has allowed 8 FGs, where Michigan has actually allowed 10 FGs. 

and deverting the subject to DB training for a post-college job, new Giant Stevie Brown just intercepted RGIII.  And got some run-back yards. 

We now return to the previously scheduled discussion.

Occidental is in Eagle Rock, near Pasadena, which is on the fear northeastern edge of LA (whereas SM is in the southwestern corner). But it's a fairly straight shot down the freeway.

I assume you're talking about Loyola Marymount? That's near SM. Just ask for Paul Westhead.

they always reserve 1 "extra" yard for Fitz Chrysler in the team season-yardage totals

Burkhead may be in or out Saturday, don't know. He's wearing a knee brace now and is definitely not his old 100% self. Meanwhile they have this other guy Ameer Abdullah at IB who leads the team in rushing and scoring with 5.9 ypc. 600+ yards.

As for their quarterback, I've been watching college football a long time and I've never seen a kid operating hot and cold like that. Taylor Martinez simply has no gray days. He's either white hot or stone cold at various points in the game.  Martinez has been sacked 15 times in 7 games.

The Huskers have really played only one decent team at home this fall - Wisconsin - and were down 10-27 but rallied back to beat them with Martinez, Abdullah & Co.

Nebraska racked up 420+ yards vs. Ohio's defense and tacked on 225 yards rushing.  Nebraska is probably the most explosive offense Michigan has played since Alabama, but NU remains a very bad defensive football team.

"I want the ball boys to be defensive-minded." -Dave Brandon, in the weeks before the Hoke hire.

Looks like he hired the right guy for that.

AS well as Mattison has developed the defenses of late -- after pretty much everyone predicited DOOM on that side of the ball this and last year -- I have absolutely no doubt that Michigan will be among the nation's elite defenses next season.  Given that fact, I have very little concern about the offense.  Yes, it will be young, but the elite defense gives Borges the luxury of being conservative and developing the offense patiently and methodically.  There shouldn't be any need to rush Shane into a starting position with Bellomy and Gardner competing for the starting position.

I love where the Michigan program is right now.  I'll dearly miss Denard, he was a great transitional player, but I am really looking forward to seeing an entire Hoke recruited team at play in a couple of years.

We have yet to play a balanced offense this year (except for Alabama and we saw how that went).  Every other team had significant holes in one area or the other.

It will be interesting to see how we do when we face an offense that will pressure us in both areas.  Nebraska and NW come the closest, so we'll know soon.

But I don't remember a player that's like him. He is a good (not yet great) pure pass rusher, can set the edge but isn't elite at it, and looks comfortable in converage but again, not elite. His one elite skill, though, is super elite: he just spots openings and hits them before anyone knows what is going on. I don't remember a player who can just absolutly snuff out anything out of the back field and between the LG and outside reciever. 5-7 times a game he just absolutly kills a play so quickly and violently that it almost seems incedental, like he just decides to sprint straight into the backfield and happens to run into the guy with the ball. He's the very definition of instinctive. 

Craig Roh is similar, though his results are more muted. It seems like every tackle made on the strong side is mad because he gets good position on the olineman and neutrilzes him, allowing the lucky LB behind him to shoot in and make the play. The more I watch him, the more I think that Roh is integral to our defense.