Michigan DC Jesse Minter reveals how Michigan will handle Washington wide receivers' ability to draw pass interference penalties

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter knows the Wolverines have their work cut out for them in numerous different ways against the Washington Huskies.

Of course, the Washington receiving corps is talented. Nobody would argue that. But Minter was asked about an interesting facet of their offense, and that’s their receiver’s abilities to draw pass interference penalties against a defense.

As it turns out, the officiating crew for Monday’s title game has thrown the most of that yellow laundry for that foul over this past season. That seemingly bodes well for Washington, and not so well for Michigan.

Regardless, Minter isn’t going to let the officials’ history dictate the way his defense plays with all the chips in the middle of the table. He touched on the topic during Saturday’s media day for the game.

“I am,” Minter said, asked if he’s aware of the officiating crew’s history with throwing pass interference flags. “They’ve (Washington’s offense) drawn about as much PIs as anybody in football as well, with the times they throw the ball downfield. So great challenge. Our guys got to play really disciplined. Really technique driven. But not be afraid to go make plays, and go make plays on the ball. So we’re not going to let the numbers of that dictate how we play.

“We’re going to try to go play our style of football. I think we’re one of the least penalized teams in college football, as a team and as a defense. So we look forward to putting our best out there and seeing if it’s good enough.”

Alas, that’s the mindset Michigan has had all season, and it’s worked out swimmingly for them thus far. Their defense stifled Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and now they’ll be looking to do the same to the Huskies in the CFP finale.

Joel Klatt credits Michigan’s defensive line for leading Wolverines to Rose Bowl victory

Moreover, Michigan did a lot of things right in order to knock off Alabama in the Rose Bowl and advance to the national championship. As Joel Klatt, among others, saw it, though, the day belonged to the Wolverines’ defensive line.

Klatt gave the defensive linemen for Michigan a ton of credit during his show following the playoff semifinals. When it comes to great teams and special champions, defensive line is often a separating factor. That’s why he was as impressed as he was in all the ways that the Wolverines got after the Crimson Tide in Pasadena.

“College football, this time of year, is always about defensive line play. It rings true again,” said Klatt. “Think about this – Michigan’s defensive line had 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. Thoroughly dominated Alabama, not even close. I know I didn’t watch the broadcast but I was there and the line of scrimmage was not even close. The Michigan defense took it to Alabama at the line of scrimmage.”

“Now, Alabama created some things, namely with quarterback run with Jalen Milroe, which we talked about being an issue for the Michigan defense. But that was never going to be sustainable long-term because they couldn’t throw it because they couldn’t protect. Not even close,” Klatt explained. “They couldn’t handle the blitzing and the structure of blitzing that Jesse Minter, the defensive coordinator for Michigan, was bringing. They couldn’t handle the stunts from the defensive line, they couldn’t handle the overall rush. Again, there might not be a singular great pass rusher for Michigan but, as a collective, they’re as good of a pass rush as there is in college football.”

In total, Michigan finished with six sacks, including five just in the first half, and 10 tackles for loss. That led to under 300 yards for the Tide offense as they took the efficiency and flow out of their pass attack and run game, especially since they mostly neutralized Milroe.

We’ll see if they have a similar day against Washington on Monday. Time will tell if the defense can lift Michigan to victory once again.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.