Iowa's defense is ranked near the top in the country in most metrics heading into Saturday's game against Michigan. However, where the Hawkeyes' defense has arguably thrived the most this season is the scoring defense, which currently ranks number one in the country.
It's the top-scoring offense in the Wolverines against the top-scoring defense in the country. Something has to give.
This is why U-M's offensive coaching staff has preached all week about the importance of taking care of the football. To not let the Hawkeyes thrive off mistakes, which is its bread and butter.
What sticks out to Weiss the most is the fact that the Hawkeyes always send players to the league without having much of the spotlight on the program.
They're consistent and that's what consistency does for you.
"The Iowa defense is a huge challenge for any team," Weiss told reporters this week. "Any offense to face. There’s a reason why they’re No. 1 in the country in a lot of areas, but they play with unbelievable fundamentals, they’re sound, and they communicate really well. If you look at the defense, it’s all fifth-year guys, some fourth-year guys. The only guy that’s not is Cooper DeJean, who, when it’s all said and done, may have been the best one. The guy is an elite player, and certainly will be playing at the next level."
He continued:
"I think it’s a misconception about Iowa, too, that they maybe are kind of like a bunch of no-name players. I mean, Riley Moss will be drafted, Jack Campbell, who will be drafted. Noah Shannon, John Waggoner—I mean, these guys are gonna play in the NFL, like, this isn’t a bunch of no-names. They’re really good players. They have a really good scheme. They know what they’re doing, they play hard. Just nothing but the utmost respect for what they do and how they do it. It’s a huge challenge for us"
He understands the need for the offense to take care of the football on Saturday. To not force anything against a talented defense who is waiting with bated breath to force a mistake.
The Wolverines will take what is given to them and, Weiss hopes, that will be enough to walk away with the first road win of the year on Saturday.
"Iowa thrives off turnovers," Weiss said. "We know that we have to take care of the ball. We want to take care of it every week, but this week, I mean, that’s how they win games, right? They’ve scored four touchdowns on defense. So we know that it’s one of our biggest goals in this game is to end every drive with a kick and take care of the football and certainly, all those things factor into how aggressive you are in every situation. We’re going to take what they give us.
"If they give us an opportunity to throw the ball down the field, we’re going to throw the ball down the field. If they give us an opportunity to run the ball down the middle, we’ll run the ball in the middle. If they give us an opportunity to go outside, we’ll go outside. But yeah, for sure. You know, the nature of the game, we want to play complementary football and it’s about all three phases and we’re trying to complement the rest of our team."
