Wisconsin's Paul Chryst On Michigan's 'Really Fast' Defense, Run Game, More

Wisconsin's offense didn't face much resistance in each of the last two meetings against Michigan, racking up a combined 700 rushing yards and 74 points. And frankly, one of the reasons why Don Brown is Michigan's former defensive coordinator and Mike Macdonald is now in his first year in charge of the unit is because of those two meetings with the Badgers.

Badgers head coach Paul Chryst isn't expecting a cakewalk when his team hosts the No. 14-ranked Wolverines this week, though. His offense has struggled through three games, averaging 203.3 rushing yards (33rd nationally), 197 passing yards (94th), 400.3 total yards (67th) and 19 points (112th) per game while posting a 1-2 record, with a win over Eastern Michigan, and losses to Penn State and Notre Dame.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines have been stout, ranking fourth in the country in scoring defense (11 points per game allowed) and 34th in total defense (304.8 yards).

"Defensively, we’re going to be challenged differently this week, obviously, playing against a really good Michigan team, a team that’s talented and really well-coached and playing really good football right now," Chryst said.

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It's a lot of the same players as last year, Chryst noted, with the Wolverines having returned seven starters on defense, but they're playing at a much higher level and are in better positions to succeed. For example, the Wolverines have mixed up fronts and coverages, making it harder for the opposing offense to pinpoint exactly what they're going to get post-snap. In a word, Michigan has been much more unpredictable on a down-to-down basis.

"Right now, they appear to me to be a team whose defense is playing really fast, which, to me, means they’re confident in what they’re being asked to do," the seventh-year head coach continued. "I think good defenses do this — they give you a lot of different looks; they’re not just going to stand in one place and make it easy on you.

"But I think they’ve got some really good football players and a good scheme, and I think they’re playing confident and they’re flying around. They’ve got guys that can make plays."

On the other side, Michigan has been stellar offensively in seven of eight halves of football, with the exception being a scoreless second half against Rutgers last week. The Maize and Blue have put up 40.3 points (16th nationally) and 454.8 yards (33rd) per contest.

"I think they’re a really good offense. I think they’ve got a number of different weapons, and they’re playing well up front," Chryst said.

Michigan has run the ball on 74 percent of its offensive snaps, simply because it has worked so well. The Wolverines rank fifth in the country with 290.8 rushing yards per game, but they will go up against a Badger front that is yielding just 23.0 yards per game on the ground and 1.01 yards per attempt, with both numbers by far the lowest in the nation.

Anticipating that his squad will have success at least slowing down Michigan's run game, Chryst knows it's not just the rushing attack they'll have to defend.

"They’ve got enough skilled players that they’re going to make you defend the whole field," Chryst said. "That’s always the sign of a good offense. Defensively, you’ve got to defend the whole field if you can’t just put your attention on one thing or the other. You’ve got to play it honest, and I think that’s where they do a good job, and I think they’re doing it with good football players."

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard knows the Badgers must be prepared to make plays down the field as well, opining that Michigan has confidence in redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara, who came off the bench to complete 4 of 7 passes for 74 yards and a 23-yard touchdown against Wisconsin last season, and has connected on 33 of 53 throws for 534 yards and three scores this year.

"The numbers say that they are very committed to the run game," Leonhard said Monday. "Off of that, they understand you have to do certain things to stop and slow down the run, and they’re going to create one-on-one matchups for the receivers. They like their skill [position players] — they have a talented group of receivers, a talented group of tight ends and as good [a group] of backs as we’ll play this year.

"So it’s not just ground and pound. Obviously, they’ve gotten leads where they’ve been able to commit to it. They haven’t really had to get uncomfortable and put much on the quarterback — that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t. But it is a lot of vertical shots in the pass game. They’re trying to isolate corners, safeties, DBs down the field, and the scheme is there.

"I’m not falling for the trap that you have to go all in and stop the run because they can’t throw the ball. That narrative is not true. They haven’t had to, yet. They haven’t been forced into situations where they’ve had to get uncomfortable or force a throw or force a pass."

Making McNamara uncomfortable will be a key for the Badgers, who average 3.3 sacks per game and are the 45th-best pass-rushing team in the land, according to PFF. McNamara has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 396 yards when kept clean, but has connected on just 44.4 percent of his throws for 138 yards when pressured, per PFF. Pressures have come few and far between, however, with the Wolverines' pass protectors allowing just nine on McNamara for the season.

"The quarterback did some good things against us last year, obviously made a great touchdown and a couple great throws, I remember, in that game," Leonhard said. "He’s a talented kid. I know we recruited him throughout the process, so we know what he can do throwing the football.

"I like the way they’re playing their offense right now. They have an identity, they’re playing physical and they’re playing the matchups they want. Whenever you do that, you know you have to put a great plan together to put your guys in position to have success."

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