Michigan’s defense has carried a lot of the weight this season, but Penn State found a way to make that unit look a little less invincible.
The Wolverines still came away with pressure, turnovers and stops, yet the pass defense took a harder look than it has all year after allowing 267 passing yards, its highest total of the season. For a Michigan group ranked 13th against the pass, that number stood out.
Coach Kyle Whittingham pointed first to the pass rush, which he said never quite hit the level Michigan wants.
“It was not quite as ferocious as we’d like it to be,” Wolverines coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday of the pass rush. “(The Nittany Lions) did a good job getting the ball out quick, didn’t hold the ball very long, so that was part of it. But I thought our pass rush, if there’s something that we need to get back in high gear, it is the pass rush.”
Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht helped dictate the night with a quick-trigger approach. He completed 28 of 44 throws, and that tempo gave Michigan’s rush less time to get home. Even so, the Wolverines still forced two interceptions and registered three sacks, so the pocket was hardly clean all evening.
The defensive ends and linebackers did some work too, combining for 2.5 tackles for loss and 7 total yards, which accounted for half of Michigan’s team total. But Whittingham made it clear he wants more disruption, even when opposing quarterbacks are getting rid of the ball fast.
“We did bring a bunch of pressure,” Whittingham said. “It’s not like we just relied on a four-man rush, we brought pressure a good portion of the time.
So that was something that we need to get better at. But again, give them credit for getting that ball out on time and not holding it.”
The bigger problem may have been in coverage, where Penn State’s receivers created real stress. Senior cornerback Jyaire Hill spent much of the night matched with Chase Sowell, and Sowell made the matchup matter in a big way.
Sowell, Penn State’s receiving leader, added 151 more yards against Michigan and was targeted repeatedly on the Nittany Lions’ opening drive. Becht went after him five times on that first series, and Sowell came down with all five catches while beating Hill each time.
One of those plays even drew a holding penalty after Hill overextended while trying to stop him. That was the only tackle Hill recorded on Sowell during the drive; on the other completions, other Michigan defenders had to finish the play.
Whittingham also felt the defense could have been more physical at the line.
“I thought we were maybe a little soft in pass defense in this game,” Whittingham said Saturday. “We needed to get up and challenge a little more, get in the receiver’s face and be a little more aggressive in that respect.”
Penn State finished with the kind of passing production Michigan hadn’t allowed all season, and while the Wolverines’ defense is still one of the more stable parts of the team, Saturday showed there are cracks to monitor. It’s not an urgent alarm. It is, however, a reminder that better passing attacks will keep testing that unit as the schedule gets tougher.
In Other News...
Urban Meyer Sees One Important Thing In Michigan's QB Switch
Michigans halftime quarterback switch against Penn State drew immediate attention, but the larger issue was less about one player sitting and more about how the offense could keep moving. Bryce Underwood gave way to Tommy Carr after the first half as the unit struggled to find its rhythm, and Urban Meyer pointed to a key part of making that kind of change work in the middle of a game: having a backup whose skill set is close enough to keep the same playbook in place.
Carr gave the Wolverines some of that continuity once he took over, with the offense leaning on RPOs, quarterback counters and a speed option touchdown in the second half. For a team trying to steady itself on the fly, the fact that the game plan did not need to be reinvented made the switch easier to absorb, even if the bigger question around the position is still far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Roddy Gayle Jr. Gives Michigan A Needed Boost At The Right Time
Roddy Gayle Jr. is set to give Michigan a timely boost, with a temporary restraining order clearing him to return in the upcoming exhibition against Houston. For a program still sorting out its next look under the new seasons spotlight, getting an experienced guard back on the floor is the kind of development that can help settle things quickly.
Mike Boynton didnt hide his excitement about the return, pointing to Gayles experience and skill as reasons the Wolverines stand to benefit right away. Gayle, meanwhile, said he leaned on support from teammates and peers as he made the decision to come back to college basketball, a reminder that the path back has been about more than just one ruling. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan's Defensive Front Has A Huge Chance To Flip Indiana Game
Michigans defensive front is staring at one of those games where it can shape the whole afternoon, and Larry Black knows the matchup from both sides. The Wolverines defensive tackles coach once played at Indiana, and he still remembers the 2010 meeting in which he lined up against his brother, Jibreel Black, who was then at Michigan. It gives this weeks trip an extra layer of familiarity, even as the focus remains on a game that pits two programs with different strengths and plenty on the line.
For Michigan, the front sevens ability to control Indianas offense could be the key to tilting the field. Kyle Whittingham has stressed the importance of turnover margin, and that makes every pressure, tip, and takeaway feel bigger than the down in front of it. Black sounds eager for the chance to help decide the game from the defensive side, and with his background in Bloomington, he brings a little more edge to what should already be a physical matchup. [Read more 🡒]