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The Michigan Wolverine defense faces a tough task at Ohio State

Vaseline November 28, 2024

Ann Arbor – Michigan is a three-touchdown underdog against No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, but if there’s any reason for optimists to believe the Wolverines have a chance, it’s the performance of the Wolverines’ defense in recent weeks .

The rivals play Saturday at Ohio Stadium in the 120th meeting of what is known as The Game. Michigan has won three in a row and before that Ohio State had won eight in a row. Ohio State is 10-1, 7-1 Big Ten and has the nation’s No. 10 scoring offense with an average of 37.8 points. Michigan is 6-5, 4-4.

Michigan’s defense ranks fourth nationally, allowing an average of 94.0 yards, and is tied for 36th in scoring (21.5 points). The defensive line is anchored by tackles Mason Graham, one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s top interior lineman, and Kenneth Grant, and they are complemented by lead Josaiah Stewart, who leads the team with 8.5 bags, which ranks 10^e national. Graham has seven tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks, and Grant has six TFLs, including three sacks, and he also has two fumble recoveries.

The Wolverines didn’t give up a touchdown in a 50-6 win against Northwestern last weekend, beating then-No. 8 Indiana 12-3 in the second half, so the Wolverines haven’t given up a touchdown in the last six quarters. Michigan’s defense is buoyed by its performance against Northwestern, which included six sacks and two interceptions, and in the game against Indiana, the Wolverines allowed just 18 yards in the second half of the 20-15 loss. Even in the 38-17 loss to No. 1 Oregon a week before Indiana, Michigan’s defense had a stronger second half and in the third quarter even outscored the Ducks 77-63 in the and held them to 2-of-5 in third place. .

“The communication, especially the last three games, has been great,” Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Tuesday on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio program. “The Oregon game was a tough start. But from Oregon’s halftime until now, we’ve played really well defensively.”

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, who transferred from Kansas State before the season, has completed 74% of his throws for 2,685 yards and has been responsible for 33 touchdowns, including seven rushing scores, all in the red zone.

“He’ll definitely go for it more,” Grant said of Howard this week. “He’s a mobile quarterback, a big guy. He’s going to pull it further down in the red zone and stuff like that. They get an extra man who can score the ball and do other things with the ball.”

What could potentially be an advantage for the Wolverines is Ohio State’s offensive line, which has lost several starters to injury, most recently center Seth McLaughlin. The Buckeyes lost left tackle Josh Simmons last month. Still, Grant says he sees no weakness.

“They make a good unit, work together,” Grant said. “There is no question of dropping out. It’s Ohio State, so they’ll always be ready. We just have to take it straight to their faces.”

Graham and Grant have caught Howard’s attention.

“These are two very, very good players,” Howard told reporters in Columbus this week. “Our O-line knows they have a challenge, but they’ve had challenges every week. And people were afraid they wouldn’t be able to handle the movement from Indiana. Before Penn State, they wouldn’t have been able to handle moving, but those guys continue to rise to the challenge.”

It starts up front for Michigan’s defense, and the importance of the play of the front seven has become even more important with the absence due to injury of All-American cornerback Will Johnson. It is uncertain whether Johnson will return after missing the last four games at Ohio State. Martindale emphasized that he is not being overconfident in saying that Michigan’s defensive line is the elite group on defense.

“I mean we have to have an advantage there in every game,” Martindale said. “They did a good job. (Stewart) has had a great year. He is now at 8.5 bags. Mason, he’ll be picked in the first round. And KG is the same. They’ve played a lot of replays this year compared to what they’ve done in the past. It will be a fun match and we’ll see what happens.”

The mismatch could be with Michigan’s secondary, which has missed Johnson and is going against a tough group of receivers. Ohio State averages 261.5 yards passing and features an elite group that includes Emeka Egbuka, with 692 yards and nine touchdowns, dynamic freshman Jeremiah Smith, who has 899 yards, and Carnell Tate with 525 yards and four touchdowns.

“This game we’re going to come up with is a whole different animal,” Martindale said. ‘They have three werewolves there that we have to try to cover. It will be a great challenge for us.”

Ohio State ranks 28th in offense with an average of 439.1 yards, and Michigan’s defense is No. 23 (316.3 yards).

“They’re just a machine offensively right now,” Martindale said. “We know it’s going to be a physical match. For me, that is an advantage for us physically. We’ve done a great job of essentially patching a secondary all season. So that will be a test because you have to have a number of prime ministers who can compete against prime ministers.”

Martindale said in his first season at Michigan after spending the last 20 in the NFL, the Wolverines have managed about a quarter of the defensive package he installed.

“So we have a big library to draw from,” he said.

For Michigan to have success, Grant said it’s all about allowing the offensive and defensive lines to gain control.

“Win the front trenches,” Grant said. ‘We have to win the trenches at the front. That first starts with us, D-line and O-line, competing up there. We need to come out and punch people in the mouth.”

Martindale, making his first trip to Ohio Stadium, said his approach entering The Game is to keep it simple. There’s no need to empty that huge library he mentioned and overcomplicate things. The Wolverines have said all week and all season that they prepare for Ohio State every day, that they treat every Monday of game week as if it were the Monday of Ohio State week.

According to him, it is about going back to basics and carrying out assignments.

“We know we’re the underdogs in this,” Martindale said. “As long as we don’t play like the underdog, everything will be fine.”

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