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ORLANDO, Fla. — Different year, same result. Such is the case of Michigan’s defense going up against Ohio State.
Despite defensive coordinator Don Brown showing his prowess and aptitude a year ago, when his defenses all but shut down three of the teams it had lost to the year before, the hope was that this year against OSU, the Wolverines would manage similarly.
However, that didn’t happen. Not even close.
While the Buckeyes didn’t hang 62 on them this time around, 56 isn’t too far off. Michigan only forced four punts, and in retrospect, that seems like a lot.
So what was Don Brown’s demeanor after the game and in the lead up to the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Alabama? Redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone says it was as expected.
“It’s just regular disappointment,” McGrone said. “With the amount of time we prepared — everything we did leading up to that point — it sucks that it ended up that way. But it’s one game at a time and we knew we had one more, so it’s Alabama now.”
Given that Michigan has shown that it can shut down decent offenses — Indiana is one of the top offenses in the country this year; Penn State was mostly shut down in the second-half and Notre Dame had no luck in the rain — when it comes to Ohio State, the maize and blue haven’t had much defensive success the past two years.
So what’s gone wrong? Has the team figured it out?
According to McGrone, it’s actually quite simple.
“Just coming from Wisconsin to Penn State — each game we lost was because of the explosive plays,” McGrone said. “Wisconsin had big runs, huge passes, and Ohio State as well. So it comes down to executing and eliminating those big plays.”
Michigan is hoping for a resurgence come Wednesday. Given that the opponent is Alabama, despite the absence of Tua Tagovailoa, it’s a tall order to ask for the Wolverines to stall the No. 6 offensive attack in the country. But there’s the one caveat: with the hiring of Josh Gattis, Michigan is essentially running Alabama’s offense.
That familiarity could be something of a boon for the defense.
“Since spring ball, we’ve really been seeing Alabama’s offense,” McGrone said. “So coming into this game, we’re very confident. Our offense runs a lot of the same plays, same route combinations, so we’re really confident coming into this game, and I can’t wait.”
These Wolverines will have their shot at redemption come Wednesday, Jan. 1, when they take on the Crimson Tide in the VRBO Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Kickoff is slated for 1PM EST.