What defense doesn't get "exposed" vs teams with great offenses in CFB today. Alabama has 5 stars all over their defense but gave up over 550 yards of offense vs Clemson last year and Ole Miss this year. Lamar Jackson made a great Clemson defense look like a pee wee team this past weekend. Dantonio and MSU have been known for their great defenses over the years but even they have had their problems with the OSU's, Baylors, and Oregon's of the world.
Can you really sit here and say UM doesn't have one of the best defenses in CFB? Look around, there aren't many better.
this. Alabama has more NFL draft picks on defense every year than anybody and they have trouble defending spread teams. it's the nature of that offense, they spread out the LB's and try to get them in space and most LB's aren't Jaylon Smith- they can't cover TE's let alone slot WR's and RB's.
And last year was last year. DJ Durkin was co-ordinating the defense, not Don Brown. I loved me some Durkin, but he ain't Don Brown. This Michigan defense is a lot better and a lot of the players on it like CB Channing Stribling and safety Delano Hill and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr have made huge leaps and bounds in terms of their personal development as individual players. All 3 of those guys are playing lights out football. Especially Hurst Jr. He's literally been unblockable and destroyed Penn State and Wisconsin interior OL.
Oh and against Ohio State last year Michigan's DL was decimated by injury. Their best DL Ryan Glasgow was out and so was his back-up at NT Bryan Mone. And their second best DL Chris Wormley was really banged up. That defensive line is fully healthy right now and dominating. And Rashan Gary has helped take it up to another level. He's been the real deal and getting better every single week.
And last years Ohio State team was the best team in the country IMO. Oh and they had ZEKE- who is leading the NFL in rushing over the first QTR of this NFL season. That team was freaking LOADED. A slip up against Michigan State cost them from going back to back. They would've beaten BAMA imo.
That's Urban's MO though. He slips up against a team he shouldn't every year at least once or twice a year. The guy has 3 National Titles and he's NEVER gone undefeated. He's always had a really bad loss along the way on all 3 title teams. He had the losses at the right times, early on in the year. They lost to a crappy VaTech team early on in 2014 and wound up winning the title. Just really bad timing for him last year to have his annual let down game.
