Regarding our Defense and lack of strength of schedule thus far.

[GreggK]

I have seen a lot of pundits pointing out, rightfully so, that we haven't really played an offense with a pulse this year. The implication being that we are overrated and ripe for the picking. Obviously, I think that most here disagree with that assessment because no matter who you play, you can't really do better than #1.

One thing that I thinking about though that I think that can give us confidence about our defense is the fact that this defense, last year was ranked #10 after it was all said and done. We lost Mustipher, Brown, Sutherland, and Porter. That is a lot of talent for sure, but honestly if i was told I had to pick just one to bring back, it would be Mustipher and thats because we have done an amazing job reloading in the secondary.

We are older, more experienced, and bigger. Robinson is 15 pounds bigger, Beamon is 35 pounds bigger, Jacobs put on about 10 pounds , Carter put on about 10 pounds , King is about the same but he was big already, Durant put on 10 pounds.

Is this defense better? Time will certainly tell but I think last year is a good marker in addition to its current #1 rating. And yes, I am sure there will be some negatives out there saying "But we gave up 354 yards to OSU last year". It's true and a concern, but I would counter that they lost both Tackles, and CJ Stroud.

In the end, this is all speculation and just some talking points, but i find the argument that since we played a weak schedule we are then overrated to be garbage.

 

[psuro]

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

The record is the only thing that matters 1-0

 

[ManxomeLion]

I have seen a lot of pundits pointing out, rightfully so, that we haven't really played an offense with a pulse this year. The implication being that we are overrated and ripe for the picking. Obviously, I think that most here disagree with that assessment because no matter who you play, you can't really do better than #1.

One thing that I thinking about though that I think that can give us confidence about our defense is the fact that this defense, last year was ranked #10 after it was all said and done. We lost Mustipher, Brown, Sutherland, and Porter. That is a lot of talent for sure, but honestly if i was told I had to pick just one to bring back, it would be Mustipher and thats because we have done an amazing job reloading in the secondary.

We are older, more experienced, and bigger. Robinson is 15 pounds bigger, Beamon is 35 pounds bigger, Jacobs put on about 10 pounds , Carter put on about 10 pounds , King is about the same but he was big already, Durant put on 10 pounds.

Is this defense better? Time will certainly tell but I think last year is a good marker in addition to its current #1 rating. And yes, I am sure there will be some negatives out there saying "But we gave up 354 yards to OSU last year". It's true and a concern, but I would counter that they lost both Tackles, and CJ Stroud.

In the end, this is all speculation and just some talking points, but i find the argument that since we played a weak schedule we are then overrated to be garbage.

Agreed. So how is Michigan's defense so highly rated then? I don't recall anyone claiming that PSU's going to shutout OSU. But fact remains that the PSU defense has maintained the level of performance this season playing 2 and 3 levels deep. It's not just the talent IMHO, it's the depth. How many players have sacks? 14 or 15 players? Add to that that the defense is fresh, injury free and also seems to be peaking at just about the right time. I'd say this defense is better than the one that played in the Rose Bowl last year and handled Utah, so the notion that PSU's defensive standing is inflated seems like a rather superficial take.
As for giving up 354 yards to OSU last year....points matter, yards do not. PSU had 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter leading to 14 of the 28 4th quarter points by the Buckeyes. Not sure how that is the fault of the defense. 14 points in a 44 to 31 loss. I'm sure it won't take a match wizard to see how that influenced the outcome of the game.

 

[Psumatt85]

Agreed. So how is Michigan's defense so highly rated then? I don't recall anyone claiming that PSU's going to shutout OSU. But fact remains that the PSU defense has maintained the level of performance this season playing 2 and 3 levels deep. It's not just the talent IMHO, it's the depth. How many players have sacks? 14 or 15 players? Add to that that the defense is fresh, injury free and also seems to be peaking at just about the right time. I'd say this defense is better than the one that played in the Rose Bowl last year and handled Utah, so the notion that PSU's defensive standing is inflated seems like a rather superficial take.
As for giving up 354 yards to OSU last year....points matter, yards do not. PSU had 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter leading to 14 of the 28 4th quarter points by the Buckeyes. Not sure how that is the fault of the defense. 14 points in a 44 to 31 loss. I'm sure it won't take a match wizard to see how that influenced the outcome of the game.

I respect match wizards

 

[mr.michigan]

Agreed. So how is Michigan's defense so highly rated then? I don't recall anyone claiming that PSU's going to shutout OSU. But fact remains that the PSU defense has maintained the level of performance this season playing 2 and 3 levels deep. It's not just the talent IMHO, it's the depth. How many players have sacks? 14 or 15 players? Add to that that the defense is fresh, injury free and also seems to be peaking at just about the right time. I'd say this defense is better than the one that played in the Rose Bowl last year and handled Utah, so the notion that PSU's defensive standing is inflated seems like a rather superficial take.
As for giving up 354 yards to OSU last year....points matter, yards do not. PSU had 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter leading to 14 of the 28 4th quarter points by the Buckeyes. Not sure how that is the fault of the defense. 14 points in a 44 to 31 loss. I'm sure it won't take a match wizard to see how that influenced the outcome of the game.

Sign stealing

 

[BeerLion]

Just my two cents. I have been worried about bout our offensive and defensive lines all year. I think overall they have bot under performed, especially the offensive lines with run blocking. They seem to me to be inconsistent and/or have struggled against opponents that they should not have any problem with. SO I am anxious about tomorrow.

 

[LB99]

Just my two cents. I have been worried about bout our offensive and defensive lines all year. I think overall they have bot under performed, especially the offensive lines with run blocking. They seem to me to be inconsistent and/or have struggled against opponents that they should not have any problem with. SO I am anxious about tomorrow.

I think most teams to this point have focused on stopping the known (Singleton and Allen) and challenged the unknown (Allar) to beat them. Allar has played well. He’s taking what the defense is giving him and they are successfully and methodically moving down the field. I’m not sure the OL is completely to blame for that scenario when it comes to run blocking.

 

[LB99]

Michigan has played no one. Their schedule is Charmin soft and for the 3rd straight year they played their first 4 games at home. Not really sure how anyone makes conclusions from that?

 

[LB99]

I have seen a lot of pundits pointing out, rightfully so, that we haven't really played an offense with a pulse this year. The implication being that we are overrated and ripe for the picking. Obviously, I think that most here disagree with that assessment because no matter who you play, you can't really do better than #1.

One thing that I thinking about though that I think that can give us confidence about our defense is the fact that this defense, last year was ranked #10 after it was all said and done. We lost Mustipher, Brown, Sutherland, and Porter. That is a lot of talent for sure, but honestly if i was told I had to pick just one to bring back, it would be Mustipher and thats because we have done an amazing job reloading in the secondary.

We are older, more experienced, and bigger. Robinson is 15 pounds bigger, Beamon is 35 pounds bigger, Jacobs put on about 10 pounds , Carter put on about 10 pounds , King is about the same but he was big already, Durant put on 10 pounds.

Is this defense better? Time will certainly tell but I think last year is a good marker in addition to its current #1 rating. And yes, I am sure there will be some negatives out there saying "But we gave up 354 yards to OSU last year". It's true and a concern, but I would counter that they lost both Tackles, and CJ Stroud.

In the end, this is all speculation and just some talking points, but i find the argument that since we played a weak schedule we are then overrated to be garbage.

I like what Manny is doing with putting 3 DEs (Chop, Issac, DDS) on the field at the same time with DDS lining up in the inside. He’s big and strong enough to handle it and quick enough for interior linemen to struggle with him. We will see how that works against power run teams, but the defense certainly has tightened up as the season has progressed. I think McCord will be seeing a lot of those three tomorrow.