How the Michigan 'D' was Able to Bring Heat from First to Last Play Against Iowa
10/5/2019 11:44:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Choose any hyperbolic adjective and it wouldn't be an overstatement for what the University of Michigan defense did Saturday (Oct. 5) in dominating Iowa in a 10-3 victory.
The defense was relentless, stout and opportunistic. Once the No. 14 Hawkeyes got anywhere near the red zone, the Wolverine defense got downright suffocating.
No. 19 Michigan registered eight sacks among 13 tackles for lost yardage, four turnovers and held Iowa to one yard rushing -- one week after it rolled for 351 on the ground against Middle Tennessee State.
It began with Iowa's first play, when defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson forced a fumble by tailback Mekhi Sargent that cornerback Ambry Thomas recovered.
It continued to the last play, when viper Khaleke Hudson nearly got the ninth sack while forcing a left-handed pass by a right-handed quarterback that went for lost yardage on fourth down as the Hawkeyes neared midfield.
Iowa possessed the ball for 33:57, and that made it an endurance test for a defense that, while it rotated some, had a good number of players on the field for the vast majority of plays. Still, the Wolverines seemed fresh to the very end.
Their fire burned bright, and it burned long.
I asked Hutchinson why they were able to endure, and he noted that defensive coordinator Don Brown challenges them to set a record for the most "reps" or plays in a practice. Hutchinson said they pushed the mark to 120 in a practice two weeks ago, and upped it to 130 last week.
"We just have a ton of endurance," noted Hutchinson.
Hutchinson
They also displayed great skill, talent and strategy.
"Obviously, that was a defensive masterpiece," said Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh. "Don called a great game. They were very well prepared. Player-wise, it was just very obvious from play one to the last play of the game that everybody was hustling, and running, and playing with great effort."
Harbaugh paused, looked at Thomas seated to his left, and nodded while concluding, "So, great job."
It was Thomas, with tight coverage on former Wolverine Oliver Martin on third-and-goal at the Michigan four-yard line, who forced Iowa to settle for a 22-yard Keith Duncan field goal on its 61-yard drive. That was the only Hawkeye march longer than 39 yards.
Thomas said Brown challenged his defense to get two interceptions against a previously-unbeaten team that had thrown none, and safety Josh Metellus and cornerbacks Lavert Hill and Thomas combined to make it three pickoffs.
Stanley entered the game having thrown 136 consecutive passes without an interception dating back to 2018, and had eight touchdown passes in four wins this season before getting blanked in that department by the Wolverines. Stanley completed some third-and-long passes for 260 yards on 42 attempts, but for the most part was running to avoid the pass rush or engulfed by the Wolverines and dropped.
Brown pointed out to his team during the week the challenge of stopping three backs who each averaged at least 5.5 yards per carry and combined for 217.5 yards on the ground per game. And, even when the minus-65 yards from quarterback Nate Stanley's sacks are subtracted, Iowa had 22 actual rushes for 66 yards with a long of 15 yards.
"I think we all just played our asses off on the defense," said Hutchinson. "We knew it was the power of Iowa, the big dogs who just run it down your throat. So, yeah, we showed them what kind of run defense we have."
Harbaugh clarified his earlier comment, "To hold a team to one yard rushing, that's a masterpiece."
When asked for the key to the constant and successful pass rush, Hudson said, "Stopping the run. They are a run-first team, and they're not comfortable throwing the ball."
The Hawkeyes had allowed just six sacks in their first four games, but quite simply could not keep Michigan's pass rush from putting its licks on Stanley. Iowa had not allowed more sacks in a game since Indiana registered nine against them in 2007, and the Wolverines had not totaled eight sacks since the 2016 game at Ohio State.
"The defensive line play was spectacular," said Harbaugh.
Danna
Kwity Paye had 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries before he left the game with an injury early in the second half and spent much of his time trying to get loose on a stationary bike. Hutchinson moved outside to take his spot, and Michael Danna and Michael Dwumfour replaced Hutchinson in the middle of the line next to Carlo Kemp. And the Wolverines didn't even seem to miss their sack leader.
Hutchinson had one sack and also broke up a pass. He has teamed up with Paye to make a high number of game-changing plays this season. Hutchinson said Paye came up with a nickname for them: "Salt and Pepper."
The rest of the defense sprinkled in a good share of big plays, too.
Linebacker Jordan Glasgow had two sacks and a quarterback hurry. Hudson had a team-high 11 tackles, one for lost yardage, and a quarterback hurry. Middle linebacker Cameron McGrone had six tackles and 1.5 sacks.
"We are watching a star in the making," said Michigan radio analyst Dan Dierdorf of McGrone, the speedy sophomore from Indianapolis.
There were stars aplenty in this game.
And the last two times Iowa had the ball -- at a point in the game when some defenses might have slipped or run out of gas -- the Wolverines saved their best for last.
Iowa was at the Wolverine 25-yard line with time running out in the fourth quarter. However, holding penalties on successive snaps put the Hawkeyes in a first-and-30 situation.
On third-and-24, McGrone came free up the middle and got to Stanley in no time. Hutchinson and Danna jumped aboard and left no doubt he was going down, and hard.
Iowa was forced to punt, having been pushed back to its own 49-yard line.
Still, the Hawkeyes would get one more shot to tie the game with a touchdown drive and force overtime, taking over 57 yards from the end zone with 1:35 to play.
Stanley completed 3-of-8 passes for 12 yards on the drive, which ended on a fourth-and-10 play at the Michigan 44-yard line. Hudson got to Stanley (6-foot-4, 243 pounds), who surely needed one long ice bath after all the lumps he took, and could not bring him down before Stanley fired a desperation pass with his left hand.
Running back Tyler Goodson caught the short throw and was dropped by safety Daxton Hill for a one-yard loss.
The Wolverines took over on downs, ran out the final seconds, and had something to celebrate.
Dwumfour
Michigan wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones could not wait to congratulate Hudson in the locker room. He interrupted the interview with Fox's Jenny Taft to pound Hudson on the shoulder pads while thanking and exalting him and the defense.
One of the first things Wolverine quarterback Shea Patterson did in the postgame press conference was acknowledge his defense.
Since losing, 35-14, at Wisconsin, Brown challenged his defense. It then shut out Rutgers and held Iowa to a field goal. Hutchinson termed that loss to the Badgers "a wake-up call" that helped turn around the defense.
"Nobody that's with us wants that feeling again," Thomas said of getting dominated in Madison. "We play hard, no matter what."
Iowa can attest to that. So can Rutgers. Next up is a game Saturday (Oct. 12) at Illinois, and then Michigan closes out the month at Penn State and will host Notre Dame.
Nothing is going to get easier, but the defense is getting tougher and better, allowing the Wolverines (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) some momentum heading into the middle of the season.
