Michigan is heading into year four under Jim Harbaugh with high expectations. He has helped turn around one of the most prominent programs in college football that spews of tradition with a fan base hungry for championships.
Credit Harbaugh for a lot of the evolution since arriving in Ann Arbor, but what defensive coordinator Don Brown has accomplished since 2015 is impressive. The defensive guru, “Dr. Blitz”, whatever you call him, is playing a huge role in laying the groundwork that's starting to build even more momentum. The 2017 Wolverine team had one true returning starter on defense, but still had one of the best overall defenses in the country.
A list of defensive highlights was recently posted on Twitter by Sport Source Analytics. It’s such an impressive list that reading this will only make Michigan fans more excited for the season to arrive.
Just remarkable the numbers @FBCoachDBrown has put up the last three years. pic.twitter.com/Vj79483DKD
— SportSourceAnalytics (@SportSourceA) June 22, 2018
Here are the stats from the post.
Yes, I'd say more fans are less worried about the defense and placing all their doubt on the offense. They’re also worried about the gauntlet of a schedule. If the defense is as dominant as they can be, those road games get much easier. I’ve felt like this for awhile knowing what they’ve got up front and in the secondary; if the defense holds opponents to under 21 points, the Wolverines will win a lot of games, including the tough road games.
What do you think about this 2018 defense? Fill in the blanks.
Michigan will have the best defense since the year ____.
Michigan will hold ____ teams under 21 points.
We’ve got nine more Saturday’s of waking up with no Michigan football, and it’ll be here before we all know it.
Be sure to follow David Noe on Twitter (@DavidRNoe) and Maize N Brew (@MaizeNBrew) for all the latest Michigan football news and notes.