Defense big part of Wolverines’ turnaround
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — As Jim Harbaugh gears up for his first game against Ohio State as Michigan’s coach, he said he finds himself reflecting on the same game from 1969.
Harbaugh was 5 five years old when the game was played, but the similarities to 2015 are easy to draw.
Bo Schembechler, also in his first year at Michigan, readied his team — also ranked No. 12 with a tough loss to Michigan State earlier in the season — for a home game against defending national champion Ohio State.
Michigan’s 24-12 upset victory is considered one of the biggest in the rivalry’s history, but Harbaugh said he’s reminded of that year solely because of the snow sitting outside the Crisler Center during his news
conference on Monday.
Michigan’s practice field, Harbaugh said, was covered in snow the Monday before the Ohio State game in 1969. Schembechler called a morning team meeting and handed his players shovels, telling them to get the practice field ready.
“I don’t think (Harbaugh is) going to have us shovel it,” senior linebacker Joe Bolden said, laughing. “It makes no sense when you’ve got all these fancy machines.”
Times and expectations of shoveling in the cold have changed, but Harbaugh’s Wolverines (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) are likewise on the cusp of rejoining a rivalry that recently has been dominated by Ohio State. A large reason why is a strong defense.
Entering Saturday’s game against No. 8 Ohio State, the Wolverines rank sixth in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 14.9 points allowed per game and second in total defense with an average of 263.1 yards allowed. Those numbers would be even better if not for 527 yards and 41 points allowed two weeks ago in a 48-41 double-overtime win at Indiana.
But the Wolverines defense, despite being without senior tackle Ryan Glasgow — out for the rest of the season because of a pectoral injury — bounced back on Saturday in a 28-16 win at Penn State. Michigan limited the Nittany Lions to 207 total yards and regularly got to quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who completed only 13 of 31 passes.
“That’s (defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin) and the coaching staff. Every week they’re coming in and scheming up something different to put us in a better position to win games,” senior defensive tackle Willie Henry said. “We did well. I felt like we put a lot of pressure on Hackenberg.
Holding Ohio State in check will start with stopping the running game, which the Wolverines weren’t able to do in 2014, allowing 233 rushing yards in a 42-28 loss.
“They were young, they were inexperienced at the beginning of the year (in 2014), but they came on really fast,” senior defensive end Chris Wormley said of the Buckeyes’ offensive line. “They got after us last year.”
Ohio State’s offense has put up 42 points on Michigan in back-to-back games, but the Wolverines can’t think about that heading into this game, junior cornerback Jourdan Lewis said.
“We have to stop the offense regardless of what the score was last year or the year before,” Lewis said. “Honestly, we’ve just got to execute and hope we don’t have 42 points put up on us.”
Indiana is Michigan’s only opponent to eclipse 30 points this season. Only three others — Utah, Michigan State and Minnesota — have broken 20.
Still, Harbaugh said, there’s always room for improvement.
“(Satisfied) is not a word we ever use in football,” he said.