College Football 2018: 5 reasons to be excited for week 10

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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3 Don Brown’s defense

Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich has been offering the Penn State Nittany Lions quite a bit of bulletin board material heading into Saturday’s game. The Wolverines defense is 1st overall in the country per the S&P+ and Don Brown has to love that metric. Without Brown in Ann Arbor the Wolverines wouldn’t have been close to as successful as they’ve been under Jim Harbaugh. An offensive minded head coach brought in a defensive genius in Brown who loves aggressive blitzes and smack talking linemen.

The Nittany Lions put up 42 points on the Wolverines in 2017 and that’s the rematch talk Winovich has been spreading. Trace McSorley scored five times (three on the ground) last year and gave up 7.2 yards per carry and two touchdowns on the ground to current New York Giant Saquon Barkley. Brown needs an answer to quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Mike Sanders in this year’s rendition of the game. If the Wolverines can shut down the PSU offense the Wolverines improving offense of their own can take over. Remember, Harbaugh’s unit only scored 13 points in 2017.

Don Brown’s defense will rely on star linebacker Devin Bush and the aforementioned Winovich. Bush has 39 tackles (six tackles for loss) and four sacks. Winovich has 10 tackles for loss in 2018 and 37.5 over his career in Ann Arbor.

Prediction: Michigan by 9