Defense/Special Teams Notes: U-M's Defense Torched By Wisconsin Ground Game
The rush defense for the Michigan Wolverines' football team was torched on Saturday by Wisconsin in a way that had not been seen under fourth-year defensive coordinator Don Brown.
The Maize and Blue's defensive unit allowed 359 yards to the Badger ground game, including 203 and two touchdowns to junior running back Jonathan Taylor.
It was obvious from the onset that U-M was going to have trouble stopping UW's offense, with the Badgers stringing together a 12-play, 75-yard drive on its first series of the game that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Taylor.
The Badgers punted on their second possession, before Taylor ripped off a 72-yard TD run to make it 14-0 on Wisconsin's third drive of the afternoon.
UW's fourth series actually took up over half of the second quarter, when it compiled a 15-play, 80-yard drive that chewed 8:29 off the clock and concluded with a one-yard quarterback sneak by junior Jack Coan to make the score 21-0 with 6:40 remaining in the half.
A 25-yard touchdown run by Coan with 57 seconds before halftime made it 28-0, and the Badgers' final score of the day came on their first series of the third quarter when sophomore fullback John Chenal found the end zone from two yards out.
“It’s just like any kind of adversity in a football game," senior safety Josh Metellus said afterward when asked what the team's mindset was when they were down 28-0. "You get hit in the mouth, and it’s how you respond. It’s 60 minutes of football, but we only played 30.
“We were ready to go back out there and try to fight for the last 30 minutes to get it done.”
UW averaged 6.3 yards per rush, 6.7 yards per play and racked up a total of 487 offensive yards on the day (including 312 in the first half alone).
"Their ability to block and tackle was really good today," head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "There were holes inside, and when we shut those holes off, [Taylor] had the ability to bounce them to the outside.
"They controlled the game with the running game, and it was easy to see that."
Although UW only compiled 128 yards through the air, Coan connected on 13 of his 16 pass attempts.
The Wolverine front seven struggled mightily to create pressure or get into the Badger backfield as well, logging just two tackles for loss and one sack.
The 28 points surrendered in the first half signaled the first time Michigan had allowed that many points in a single half since Florida posted the same amount in last season's Peach Bowl.
Punter Will Hart One Of The Team's Few Bright Spots On Saturday
Redshirt junior punter Will Hart was as one of the club's few who played well on Saturday, booting five kicks away for an impressive 51-yard average. Three of the veteran's five punts traveled 50 yards or further, including a best of 61 yards that matched his season long.
Despite the return of junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones from injury, sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell continued to handle the punt returning duties, averaging seven yards on three attempts.
A unique special teams play actually occurred with just under five minutes left in the game, when the Wolverines attempted an onside kick following their second touchdown to make the score 35-14.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow recovered it, but the Wolverine offense was not able to capitalize, with senior quarterback Shea Patterson later fumbling at the UW 16-yard line.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Redshirt junior defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour once again missed the game with injury. He played just one snap in the season-opener and hasn't appeared since.
• Redshirt junior linebacker Devin Gil played on defense against Wisconsin after not receiving a single defensive snap versus Army (he participated on special teams against the Black Knights, however).
• The last time U-M allowed an individual player to eclipse the 200-yard plateau in a game was in 2015, when Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott recorded 214 yards in the Buckeyes' 42-13 win.
• The U-M defense did not force a turnover for the first time since last season's Peach Bowl loss to Florida. In fact, it marked just the second time in Michigan's last 11 games (dating back to the 42-21 win over Maryland last year on Oct. 6) that it did not register a takeaway.
• Wisconsin won the time of possession battle, 41:07 to 18:53.
• Saturday's meeting was the 20th time U-M and UW faced off in a Big Ten opener, with the Wolverines falling to 17-3 in those games. The Maize and Blue lead the all-time series, 51-16-1.
• Wisconsin's 359 rushing yards were the most Michigan had yielded since Ohio State racked up 369 on Nov. 28, 2015. The Badgers' 6.3 yards per rush were the highest an opponent had averaged against U-M since Florida tallied 6.6 in last season's Peach Bowl.
• Senior viper Khaleke Hudson posted 14 tackles, just one shy of his career high of 15.
• Metellus' eight tackles were the most he ever had in a game, while redshirt freshman linebacker Cameron McGrone also logged a career best with six stops (the first six of his U-M tenure).
Junior safety Brad Hawkins tied his career high with 10 stops, while sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson missed tying his career high of 10 tackles by one but finished with his most ever solo tackles (six, which ranked second on the team).
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