Here’s How IU Stacks Up Against Michigan’s Defense

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

Defense wins championships. Michigan’s stout defense was a big part of their championship run last season. Over the past couple of seasons, the Wolverines have consistently had a top-10 defense, culminating last year with a defense that didn’t allow more than 24 points a game and a best in FBS stop rate of 87.4%. While these are impressive numbers, the 2024 Michigan defense looks way more “human” than past years, and there are a myriad of ways in which the Hoosiers can beat them.

The most glaring difference between the 2023 and 2024 Michigan defenses is the change in Defensive Coordinator. With DC Jesse Minter following Jim Harbaugh to the Chargers, former Baltimore Ravens DC Wink Martindale has taken command of the Wolverines defense. As “The Godfather” of the defensive scheme that Jesse Minter and Mike Macdonald ran at Michigan from 2021-2023, not much has changed defensively for the Wolverines. This comes with one caveat, however, as Martindale runs a much more aggressive version of the scheme, blitzing way more than both Minter and Macdonald did in years previous.

When asked about Martindale and the aggressive nature of the Michigan defense, Head Coach Curt Cignetti said, “They do present a lot of looks, and they do a great job. He's an excellent coordinator. He coordinated in the NFL a long time. And when you put the tape on, you see a defense that's very multiple and tries to create problems for offenses and good players that fly around, play hard. It all starts up front with them. They're good inside and good on the edge. And they're an aggressive defense.”

In order to prepare for this defense, Cignetti said, “We'll have a good plan to be balanced on offense and protect the quarterback and free guys up in the pass game and hopefully good in critical situations, and then we've got to go out and execute it.” 

Along these lines, the hurry-up offense could be the difference for the Hoosiers on Saturday. Since Martindale has spent so long in the NFL, he has struggled to adjust his scheme to the college game. Many times over the course of the season, teams have gone quickly against Michigan and caught the defense flat-footed with the wrong personnel in the game. If the Hoosiers can go fast, they might be able to create a favorable personnel matchup that could lead to big plays.

The other major weakness of the Wolverines’ defense that the Hoosiers can exploit is their health. Michigan has been bitten by the injury bug often this season; neither of their starting cornerbacks, All-American Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill, played last week against Oregon. Johnson and Hill’s absence was felt on Saturday, as the Ducks passed for 294 yards against the depleted Michigan secondary. 

Both Johnson and Hill are listed as week to week; however Michigan coach Sherrone Moore updated the media on their availability against the Hoosiers on Monday, saying,“Seems like Jyaire is trending on probably playing, but we’ll see. And we’ll see with Will how he goes this week.” While this is optimistic, it is likely that the Wolverines will be without one or both of their starting corners this Saturday. With IU’s talented receiving corps, OC Mike Shanhan must be salivating at the potential mismatches on Saturday. 

Ultimately, while this Michigan defense is extremely talented, with first round draft picks all over the field, they are nowhere near the level they were at from 2021-2023. It will be up to the Indiana offense to go out and execute, but there will be mismatches and plays to be made on Saturday.