The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1298950
NOVEMBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 9 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Penn State Will Give U-M Its Second-Biggest Challenge By Austin Fox When the revamped Big Ten schedules were released Sept. 19, both Penn State and Wisconsin could have made a case as being Michigan's second-toughest opponent. The Badgers fell out of that conversation, how- ever, when they lost senior quarterback Jack Coan (led the Big Ten with a 69.6 completion percentage last year) to a broken foot in early October. Penn State, on the other hand, is viewed by many as the second-best team in the league behind Ohio State, thanks to the return of redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford, one of the game's best tight ends in returning All-American Pat Frei- ermuth, and an outstanding stable of running backs made up of redshirt junior Journey Brown and sophomores Devyn Ford and Noah Cain, the latter two of which were top-50 recruits nationally. The Nittany Lions will travel to Ann Arbor Nov. 28, but with no fans at Big Ten venues home-field advantage will mean less this season than perhaps any campaign in college football history. Penn State simply has fewer question marks than a Wisconsin club breaking in a new quarterback and replacing All-American running back Jonathan Taylor, and therefore poses a bigger threat to the Wolverines than the Badgers do. Wisconsin Follows OSU As Michigan's Toughest Game By Chris Balas Yes, Wisconsin lost quarterback Jack Coan to a foot injury in October, one that might cause him to miss the Nov. 14 game with Michigan. And no, the Badgers don't have another Doak Walker Award winner, like the departed Jonathan Taylor, waiting in the wings at running back. That room is a question mark, and replacements Garrett Groshek and Nakia Watson aren't in the same league as Taylor. What the Badgers do have is a program that prides itself on toughness in the trenches, physical play and the ability to wear teams down. This season will be no different. They'll feature a big, physical offensive line, a stacked defensive line and secondary, and a quarterback in 6-3 standout Graham Mertz who many believe is more talented than Coan. He was the No. 42 prep player nationally in the 2019 class, and all he's missing is experience. Penn State under head coach James Franklin usually wilts in The Big House — his last two games there have been absolute blowouts — while the Badgers generally put up a fight. We expect a better game from the Nittany Lions with no fans in the stands, but Bucky is the one to worry about most. Michigan Defense Looks To Continue Thriving Under Jim Harbaugh BY CLAYTON SAYFIE Michigan's defensive units have been stellar in each of Jim Har- baugh's five seasons as the head man in Ann Arbor, with the Wol- verines posting top-four finishes in total defense (yards allowed per game) in four of his five seasons at the helm. They've also been lights out when it comes to limiting opponents to very few points per contest, never ending the year worse than No. 25 nationally, with two top-10 marks in that category. Harbaugh's tenure began with coordinator D.J. Durkin leading an elite bunch that was fourth in the land in total defense and sixth in scoring defense, before Don Brown took over in 2016, guiding the No. 1 unit in total defense and second-best group in scoring defense in his inaugural season in Ann Arbor. After two more stellar years in 2017 and 2018, the Wolverines fell off a bit in 2019, with the Maize and Blue allowing 307.2 yards per game, the most by a Harbaugh-coached defense in Ann Arbor. U-M will look for improved marks in 2020, though exclusively going up against conference opponents will certainly make it a challenge each and every week. Here's a look at Harbaugh's defenses, diving specifically into how many yards and points the Wolverines allowed per game each season and how those finishes ranked among the country's elite: Year Coordinator Points Allowed/Game Total Yards Rushing Yards Passing Yards (National Rank) Allowed/Game Allowed/Game Allowed/Game 2019 Don Brown 20.7 (25th) 307.2 (11th) 121.7 (22nd) 185.5 (10th) 2018 Don Brown 19.4 (16th) 275.2 (2nd) 127.4 (23rd) 147.8 (2nd) 2017 Don Brown 18.8 (13th) 271.0 (3rd) 120.9 (18th) 150.1 (1st) 2016 Don Brown 14.1 (2nd) 261.8 (1st) 119.2 (15th) 142.5 (1st) 2015 D.J. Durkin 16.4 (6th) 280.7 (4th) 122.2 (16th) 158.5 (3rd) Don Brown has led the Wolverines' defense to top-11 fin- ishes nationally for total yards allowed per game in each of the last four seasons. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WHAT IS MICHIGAN'S SECOND-TOUGHEST GAME ON THE SCHEDULE (BEHIND OHIO STATE)?