Defense/Special Teams Notes: U-M's Defense Puts On A 'Masterpiece' Vs. Iowa
The Michigan Wolverines' football defense absolutely shut down Iowa's offensive attack in every phase on Saturday, en route to a crucial 10-3 victory.
U-M held the Hawkeyes to just 261 yards, including a net of only one on the ground, recorded 13 tackles for loss with eight sacks and forced four turnovers.
The dominating effort comes just two games after the Maize and Blue defense was gashed for 35 points and 487 total yards in a Sept. 21 loss at Wisconsin.
Michigan set the tone on Iowa's first offensive play of the day, with sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson forcing a fumble of redshirt junior running back Mekhi Sargent and junior cornerback Ambry Thomas recovering it at the Hawkeye 18-yard line.
RELATED: Offense Notes: Patterson, U-M's Offense Slugging in 10-3 win
Iowa possessed the ball seven times in the first half and turned it over on three of those drives (interceptions by senior safety Josh Metellus and senior cornerback Lavert Hill, and the Thomas fumble recovery), punted on three others, and converted a 22-yard field goal on the other.
Though the Hawkeyes cut down on the turnovers after the break (an interception by Thomas was the only one they committed), its rushing attack went backward.
U-M held Iowa to minus-12 yards on the ground over the game's final two quarters, while also accumulating five sacks and seven tackles for loss.
On Iowa's six possessions after halftime, Michigan forced it to punt four times, recorded the interception by Thomas and then sealed the victory with a fourth-down stop on the Hawkeyes' final drive of the game.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh rightfully called it a "defensive masterpiece" and complimented coordinator Don Brown after the game.
"Player-wise, it was just obvious from play one to the last play of the game, that everybody was hustling, running and playing with great effort," he said. "It was a great plan defensively. Don during the week said he might jump off a tall building if some of those isolation plays worked, because they really thought they had them.
"I felt the players had a great week of practice, knew exactly what to do and how to do it. They did it with great intensity and great effort. To hold a team to one yard rushing … that’s a masterpiece."
Jake Moody Misses Rare Field Goal Attempt In Michigan's Win
Entering Saturday, sophomore kicker Jake Moody had been 14 of 15 on field goal attempts in his young career.
He increased that total to 15-of-16 with a 28-yard conversion at the 12:19 mark of the first quarter to give Michigan a 3-0 lead at the time.
The sophomore then missed a 34-yarder at 11:01 of the fourth quarter, keeping the score at 10-3 and failing to give the Wolverines the breathing room they were looking for.
Harbaugh didn't have much to say when asked afterward about the unsuccessful kick, noting "it didn't miss by much" and that he has "great faith in [the team's] kickers."
Redshirt junior kicker Quinn Nordin missed an attempt as well, failing to connect on a 57-yarder as the first half expired. The miss brought Nordin's career stat line to 30 of 42 (71.4 percent).
Junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, meanwhile, only returned one punt on the afternoon, but brought it back 36 yards in the first quarter to give the Wolverines their longest punt runback of the season.
Miscellaneous Michigan Football Notes On Defense And Special Teams
• Saturday marked the fewest points Iowa had been held to in a game since Florida defeated it 30-3 on Jan. 2, 2017. That was also the last time the Hawkeyes did not score a touchdown.
• Junior defensive end Kwity Paye's 2.5-sack, 2.5-tackle for loss afternoon increased his team lead in both categories on the year, giving him 4.5 of the former and 7.5 of the latter.
• Iowa had been averaging 217.5 rushing yards per outing entering the weekend, which ranked 29th nationally, but was held to just one on Saturday.
• The last time the Maize and Blue held an opponent to one rushing yard or fewer was when it limited Northwestern to minus-nine in a 10-9 victory on Nov. 8, 2014. It was also the first time the Wolverines kept a foe to zero yards per carry or less since it held the Wildcats to minus-0.3 in that same game.
• The Hawkeyes had also only allowed six sacks all season, but yielded eight to the Wolverines — 2.5 by Paye, two by fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow, 1.5 by redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone and one each from Hutchinson and fifth-year senior defensive end Mike Danna. The quarterback takedowns by McGrone and Danna were the first of their Michigan tenures.
• The four turnovers U-M forced were its most in a game since it also registered four in a 24-21 loss at Iowa on Nov. 23, 2013. Its three interceptions, meanwhile, were its most since it also recorded three in a 14-7 victory over Wisconsin on Oct. 1, 2016.
Iowa had not given up four turnovers in a game since its 2017 season opener, a 24-3 win over Wyoming. It had not been picked off three times in a game since the 30-3 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl that ended the 2016 campaign.
• Metellus' interception of Stanley in the first quarter marked the first pick the senior quarterback had thrown all season. It also stood as the first pick for Metellus on the year, and the fourth of his career.
In addition, Saturday was just the second multi-interception game Stanley had ever had in 38 career appearances.
• Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Donovan Jeter did not see game action on Saturday.
• Senior cornerback Lavert Hill's second-quarter interception was his second of the season and the fifth of his career. It was also his 20th pass breakup, which put him one ahead of NFL Hall of Famer and former Wolverine Ty Law for 16th place on the all-time school list.
• Freshman safety Daxton Hill's pass breakup in the third quarter that led to Thomas' interception was the first of his career. The pick, meanwhile, was the third of Thomas' collegiate tenure.
• Thomas' first-quarter fumble recovery was the fifth of his career, which ties him with six other Wolverines for 12th for that category in Michigan history.
• The Michigan defense has not allowed a touchdown in nine straight quarters dating back to the fourth quarter of the Sept. 21 Wisconsin showdown, and it has only surrendered three points over its last nine quarters.
• The victory improved U-M's record to 21-4 in its last 25 homecoming showdowns, 92-27 all-time and 5-0 under Harbaugh in such affairs.
• The announced attendance of 111,519 marked the 290th straight game at The Big House with at least 10,000 people.
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