Defense Should Key Battle Of Michigan
The last time Michigan traveled to East Lansing, the Wolverines allowed two fourth-quarter touchdowns, lost to Michigan State and fell out of the Rose Bowl picture.
Last season, Northwestern scored all its points in the fourth quarter and beat Michigan 17-16.
Today, No. 5 Michigan is the master of the final period. The Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) have not allowed a fourth-quarter point entering Saturday’s conference showdown against No. 15 Michigan State (5-1, 2-1).
“We just weren’t very good in the fourth quarter,” says first-year defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann. “We had to make sure the kids understood how important that was.”
Herrmann has installed a blitzing, attacking defense and the results have paid off - the Wolverines are second nationally in scoring and total defense, permitting 8.3 points and 207.7 yards per game.
“Our attitude is that we are not going to be scored on,” safety Marcus Ray said. “Coach Herrmann’s a fiery guy. He wants perfection. We’ve taken to that.”
Michigan State plays some pretty good defense, too. The Spartans, 19-17 losers to Northwestern last Saturday, are 12th in both total and scoring defense, allowing 12.2 points and 279 yards per game.
The picks:
No. 1 Nebraska (minus 35) at Kansas: Huskers own 28-game winning streak over Jayhawks… . NEBRASKA 52-7.
No. 3 Florida State (minus 19) at Virginia: Seminoles biding time ‘til Carolina on Nov. 8… . FLORIDA STATE 42-10.
No. 5 Michigan (minus 2) at No. 15 Michigan State: Wolverines’ turn to tumble… . MICHIGAN STATE 24-21.
No. 7 Washington (minus 24) at Oregon State: Huskies heading toward Apple Cup matchup vs. Washington State… .
WASHINGTON 45-7.
Northwestern (plus 21) at No. 9 Ohio State: Buckeyes have a 19-game winning streak vs. Wildcats… . OHIO STATE 42-13.
Arizona (plus 13) at No. 10 Washington State: With Ryan Leaf tossing long-range TDs, Cougars may be nation’s most exciting team… . WASHINGTON STATE 35-13.
No. 11 Auburn (minus 16) at Arkansas: Dameyune Craig has an easy time against Hogs… . AUBURN 38-10.
Missouri (plus 10) at No. 12 Oklahoma State: Cowboys go to 7-0? Believe it… . OKLAHOMA STATE 24-10.
California (plus 23) at No. 13 UCLA: Can Bruins top Washington State’s 63 points vs. Cal last week? … UCLA 51-21.
No. 14 Kansas State (minus 8) at Oklahoma If it’s not Nebraska, K-State’s a good bet… . KANSAS STATE 31-21.
Kentucky (plus 11) at No. 16 Georgia: Bulldogs wouldn’t think of losing on homecoming, would they? … KENTUCKY 35-34.
Indiana (plus 26) at No. 18 Iowa: Tavian Banks could have 200 yards by halftime… . IOWA 42-13.
No. 19 Virginia Tech (plus 1) at No. 21 West Virginia: For what it’s worth, this is a big game in the Big East… . WEST VIRGINIA 24-20.
No. 20 Texas A&M (minus 5) at Texas Tech: Tech may have saved its points for the Aggies… . TEXAS TECH 27-21.
No. 22 Purdue (minus 10) at Illinois: Boilermakers’ Billy Dicken leads Big Ten in passing… . PURDUE 42-14.
No. 24 Toledo (minus 10) at Bowling Green: Rockets looking for second undefeated season in three years… . TOLEDO 31-17.
Alabama (minus 1 at No. 25 Mississippi: Rebels ready to pull another surprise… . MISSISSIPPI 27-17.
Last week: 13-5 (straight); 7-11 (spread).
Season: 113-29 (straight); 71-66-1 (spread).