Vegas set Michigan Wolverines football's over/under win total at 7.5 coming into the year, and the Maize and Blue have exceeded early expectations by starting off the campaign 4-0.
Over the last few weeks, pundits and fans have questioned just how legitimate Michigan is this year, but they won't have to wait much longer to find out, with the Wolverines set to do battle at Wisconsin this weekend. While the Badgers are 1-2, they're two losses have come to top-10 squads in No. 4 Penn State and No. 9 Notre Dame. The feeling inside the Michigan facilities is that Wisconsin is much better than its record shows.
Several have called it a 'measuring-stick' game, something defensive line coach Shaun Nua agrees with wholeheartedly.
"Heck yeah, man. It’s frickin Wisconsin," Nua said Wednesday. "They like to run the ball; they like to put heavy people, big people in there — and we’re looking forward to that. It’s going to be a great battle. We’re definitely looking forward to it."
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Wisconsin has outscored Michigan by a score of 74-25 over the last two meetings and racked up a combined 700 rushing yards, facts that the Wolverines' defense appears to have taken personally. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said setting the edge and stopping the run is an emphasis this week, and Nua said he's excited to get the change to right the past wrongs against the Badgers.
"It hurts, especially since I’ve been here the last two times we’ve played them and it hasn’t been a great outcome," Nua explained. "There’s high motivation to see where we are as a unit. Me personally, yes, that’s a great motivation."
The Wolverines' defensive line has been led by redshirt freshman nose tackle Mazi Smith and sophomore three-technique Christopher Hinton on the interior. The duo has combined for 15 tackles, with one for loss, and are much more consistent than they have been in the past.
"Mazi Smith, Chris Hinton — they’ve done a great job of just being hard on themselves with the demand and expectation that we put on them," Nua said. "They’ve done a great job of responding, learning from the mistakes of the past games.
"We throw a lot of stuff at them, they have to know a lot of stuff. You see them lining up in different positions, so they’ve improved really well, especially learning how to prepare. They’ve done a great job with that.
"[Hinton is] just sound, he’s aggressive, he’s trustworthy. Those are the things that will make a coach leave players in as long as possible."
Those two, plus the other interior guys, will have to play well to stop a Wisconsin run game that averages over 200 yards per game. The group is set to get seventh-year senior Jordan Whittley, who missed last week's game against Rutgers with a "boo boo," per Nua, back in the lineup.
"He’s good. He’s back, Nua revealed. "If he can stay healthy, he has what we really want with pure mass and strength inside. That’s what we’ve seen from him."
Hinton, Smith and junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson are established at this point, but Nua has seen several others step up along the defensive line, including second-year freshman tackle Kris Jenkins, redshirt junior tackle Donovan Jeter, redshirt freshman end Mike Morris, redshirt sophomore end Taylor Upshaw, redshirt freshman end David Ojabo and others, giving him more bodies to rotate through, which can come in handy with the defense is forced to play a lot of snaps or match up with the style an opponent is playing with.
"Depending on the different packages and different situations — third downs, long downs — who’s hot and who’s not," Nua said of how he decides who to put in and when. "I guess that’s a method, right? By field positions, by package and personnel. If the offense goes big, you want to go big. If they go with speed, you want to match it up with some speed."
For the most part, Wisconsin lines up in heavy packages and attempts to establish the run. Led by first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald, the Wolverines have been intent on mixing up personnel to match what an opponent is showing, which may mean they'll go with more down linemen and less defensive backs. Whatever the plan is, Nua is confident.
"I’m not a big believer in what scheme is good for this or that," Nua said. "Everything is a mindset to me. You go into a game, it’s whatever scheme you have — do you have the right mindset? It should fit everything you do.
"But yes, we love what we’re doing that fits what they do."
Nua was fired up at his press conference, and is excited to pack the Wolverines' defense on the road this weekend.
"I get fired up on the road more than frickin home games sometimes, because it’s quiet so you can communicate better," Nua said. "And you really can control the crowd. When your offense goes back out there — did you shut them up or did you fire them up? So if we keep them out of the end zone, we can keep that crowd quiet. It’s just fun on the road.
"There’s just something about going into somebody else’s house and tearing it apart. It’s more fun that way."
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