A 24.5-point favorite, Michigan Wolverines football suffered a shocking 27-24 loss to Michigan State last season. The Maize and Blue had beaten ranked Minnesota on the road in Week 1 of the shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic, before hosting the Spartans, who were on the losing end of Rutgers' first Big Ten win since 2017.
The Wolverines were confident heading into the in-state rivalry game. Too confident. And it cost them, though they weren't as good as advertised to begin with, finishing the one of the worst campaigns in program history with a 2-4 record.
"They ruined our season last year, so we’ve got a good chance to ruin their season this year," redshirt sophomore cornerback Vincent Gray, who has four pass breakups on the season, told reporters Tuesday night after practice.
"We were rolling last year, and we kind of looked past them a little bit. Shoot, what happened, happened. So we’ll never look past them again. We just can’t wait to get our get-back this Saturday."
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From a defensive standpoint, Michigan looks much different than a year ago. First-year coordinator Mike Macdonald has his unit ranked second nationally in scoring defense and 11th in yards allowed per game, while using more zone coverage on the back end and unpredictable fronts at the line of scrimmage.
"I feel like this defense gives us a great chance to compete against receivers," Gray said. "It feels really good mixing it up, not just playing a single technique the entire game, so I’m enjoying it."
Michigan's scheme held itself back last season, especially against Michigan State. When the Spartans started having success with the deep ball, the Wolverines didn't have the answers to shut it down. Michigan State completed 5 of 11 pass attempts that traveled 20-plus yards past the line of scrimmage for 204 yards and a score and totaled 323 yards through the air overall.
On three targets, Gray allowed three receptions for 143 yards and three first downs, while classmate and fellow starting corner Gemon Green yielded three receptions for 67 yards and a score.
"I feel like last year’s game helped me a lot mentally," Gray explained. "It helped me attack the game better mentally. It helped me prepare better for games. And I feel like it helped my overall process in becoming a better football player. It motivated me, it humbled me, and I’m glad it happened; I’m blessed it happened."
While it's a different quarterback manning the offense, the Spartans have big-play capability this season — even more than a year ago — with signal-caller Payton Thorne possessing several deep threats in wideouts Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor.
Thorne has connected on 17 of his 36 passes that have traveled 20-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage, averaging 20.4 yards per attempt in such situations. Michigan State's six passing plays that have resulted in 50 yards or more rank sixth in the country.
"They love deep passes, and we love defending them, so I can’t wait for this challenge," Gray, who's allowed 17 receptions for 170 yards on 28 targets this season, said.
One thing is for sure: Michigan is much less predictable than last season. Not only does it use more coverages and have more installed, but it doesn't always indicate to the offense what scheme it's in before the play begins. That alone will give the Maize and Blue a boost compared to last season.
"It helps us a lot. It helps us be able to disguise a lot as well," Gray said of the new system. "We can run other coverages off of that. We do a lot of movement with the whole secondary to disguise what we’re really in, so it helps a lot."
Gray said he knows much more about the game of football than he did a year ago, crediting his new coaches and his own development. He added that the Wolverines prepare much better than they did last season, too, revealing that he didn't even know who Michigan State wideout Ricky White was, before he caught eight passes for 196 yards and a touchdown.
"The preparation for games in general has been way better, from a personal standpoint and secondary as a whole," Gray explained. "I feel like anybody they match us up with — we talk about nameless, faceless opponents all the time, so I feel like the way we prepare for games and the way we prepare for route concepts and I don’t think that, if we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, there’s anyone that can run past us."
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