Dominant.
For anyone who watched Michigan‘s 42-7 win over Penn State this past Saturday, that is likely the first word that comes to mind.
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The Nittany Lions could do absolutely nothing against the Michigan defense and their only score came late in the fourth quarter when the Wolverines had many of their defensive starters out of the game. During the game, Michigan gave up a total of 186 yards with 75 of those coming on the final drive for Penn State.
Things were MUCH different a year ago when Penn State destroyed Michigan 42-7. In that game, Penn State racked up 506 yards of offense, including 224 rushing yards.
That is a game which has been on Wolverines’ defensive coordinator Don Brown‘s mind every morning for the past year.
“They handed it to us last year. I did a poor job against them, and the players feel the same way,” Brown said. “I wake up every morning and think about it.”
On Wednesday, Brown joined The Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket and he was clearly fired up as he was talking about last year’s shellacking at the hands of the Nittany Lions. In fact, Brown put a lot of the blame on himself and even said he “wanted to punch myself in the nose about 10 times.”
Don Brown (on @JamieandStoney) "That one left a best taste in our mouth. We didn't play well. I didn't coach very well. That's hard to admit. I wanted to punch myself in the nose about 10 times (PSU last year)"
— angelique (@chengelis) November 7, 2018
Using last year’s performance (or lack thereof) as motivation, Brown said the team had a great week of practice and that he thinks the team gave “max effort” against Penn State.
Don Brown (on @JamieandStoney) — "Had a really focused practice week. We're practicing at a really high level so you have kind of what you're going to get on Saturdays. I thought we got a max effort (vs. PSU)"
— angelique (@chengelis) November 7, 2018
Brown praised the defense for playing for each other and being proud of each other when something goes right.
Don Brown (@JamieandStoney) "probably the most important piece (that the defense is playing together) Nobody cares who gets the credit"
— angelique (@chengelis) November 7, 2018
When asked about Michigan’s defensive statistics, Brown is not surprised because of how they practice “full speed” every day.
Don Brown on UM defensive stats: "To some degree you have to look at each of them and you get a headshake. not surprised by it. This is why — you go to practice, there's no dropoff. We're at full speed every day" (on @JamieandStoney)
— angelique (@chengelis) November 7, 2018
Heading into Saturday’s game, the Michigan defense faced a Penn State offense that had been averaging 41 points per game. That will not be the case the this coming Saturday when the Wolverines go on the road to face a Rutgers team that is averaging just 15.3 points per game, which is 2nd to last (No. 129) in the Nation.
