The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 29 BY CHRIS BALAS F orty-two points allowed in the first two games was not what most expected of Michigan's defense in the early going of the 2019 season, one in which Don Brown's group was being counted on to carry the Wolverines while the new offense found its way. However, U-M's defensive coordi- nator knew it wasn't going to be an easy opening stretch, and he tried to let folks know it in the spring. That's when he started preparing for Army's unique option attack, one that gives every opponent fits and almost led to a win over College Football Playoff- bound Oklahoma last year. Few understood that the opener with Middle Tennessee State was al- most as unique. Though they were replacing a four-year starting quar- terback, the Blue Raiders employed a unique spread attack that barely re- sembles anything Michigan's offense runs in practice. By the time the bye week rolled around, even with No. 13 Wisconsin looming in Madison on Sept. 21 after blowing out its first two opponents by a combined score of 110-0, there was almost a sense of relief. It wasn't disrespect for the Bad- gers; rather it will be refreshing to get back to what they do best, senior safety Josh Metellus said after a 24-21, double-overtime win over Army, and Brown agreed. "We've got a lot of guys, and we've got to start rotating them in," Brown said, speaking mostly about the defensive line. "We have played a team with no tight ends and then we played the triple option. "This is a little different deal now. We finally can play Michigan defense where we can run our stuff we've run all preseason, all spring practice. When I'm writing Wisconsin cards, I'm kind of, 'Woo hoo!' I can whip 'em out like that because it's all the stuff our guys know and are comfortable with. We'll jump in at a high level." PLUSSES AND MINUSES For some, however, the defense remained a big question mark after two games. Middle Tennessee State quarterback Asher O'Hara found some room to run on the edges on his way to 57 rushing yards (though he lost 25 on three sacks), and he completed 22 of his 32 passes for 217 yards and two scores. Most of the receptions were so short and quick that the defensive line played almost no role in the passing game. The Blue Raiders averaged only 5.7 yards per passing play, and more than 25 percent of their total through the air came on a meaningless 59-yard score against the backups with just over a minute remaining. Brown's biggest concern was with his unit's "sudden change" perfor- mance — defense after the U-M of- fense gave the ball away — and that's something that needs to improve. His group had a chance to get off the field allowing only a field goal attempt after senior quarterback Shea Patterson fumbled on the game's first play. Then, with Middle Tennessee State facing third-and-three, O'Hara escaped a sack and scored on an 18-yard touchdown run. Even that one should have come with an asterisk. "We have this stunt we like to run, and not one guy, not two, but three guys come free," Brown said. "They all smash into each other, the quarter- back's in the middle of them and he comes free for a touchdown. "Then late in the game, we had a collision between the safety and the corner, and they score. Outside of that, I thought we did pretty well." Army, meanwhile, was a different deal. Like Brown and U-M's game against Air Force in 2017 — a 29-13 Wolverines win — the defense held a service academy to one of its lowest offensive outputs in years. Michigan limited Army's offense to 66 plays for 243 yards (3.68 avg.), its lowest yard- age total since 2017 vs. Navy, and its lowest yards per play clip since 2015 vs. Air Force. The Black Knights also were held to their lowest yards per rush aver- age (3.3) since 2015 against Navy and turned it over three times, their most in a game since 2017. Though the entire defense had to be on its toes all game, one man in par- ticular earned much of Brown's praise — senior nose tackle Carlo Kemp, who logged nine tackles. He fought on ev- ery play against a team that "fights you to the death," Brown praised. "It's tough, especially when you're the nose," the coach explained. "You're knocking the heck out of this center, Defensive coordinator Don Brown on the unique offenses his unit faced in the first two games versus the rest of the season "This is a little different deal now. We finally can play Michigan defense where we can run our stuff we've run all preseason, all spring practice. … It's all the stuff our guys know and are com- fortable with. We'll jump in at a high level."