Big Ten Football: Power Ranking The Conference Defenses Going Into Week 4
After three games for most teams, the Big Ten scoring defenses are ranked as follows:
1. Northwestern
T-2. Ohio State/ Penn State
3. Illinois
4. Iowa
5. Wisconsin
6. Purdue
7. Indiana (two games)
8. Michigan State
9. Michigan
10. Minnesota
However, we know that statistics don't always tell the whole story. After all, it is hard to give Northwestern too much credit when the teams they've played have been: Vanderbilt, Illinois State, and Rice.
Meanwhile, as awful as Michigan looks on paper—and they do look awful—they have played two teams that began the year as potential top 25 teams. No other Big Ten team can say that.
The following slideshow will break down the best and worst of the Big Ten defenses. As the season goes on, and statistics pile up, it shouldn't surprise anybody that the teams that remain at the top of the defensive standings will also remain at the top of the conference.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
1 of 11
Opponents: At Middle Tennessee- W 24-17. South Dakota (FCS)- L 38-41. Southern Cal- L 21-32.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Keanon Cooper LB- 23, Mike Rallis LB- 19, Gary Tinsley LB- 17.
Tackles-for-loss: Jewhan Edwards DL- 4.5.
Sacks: Kendall Gregory-McGhee DL and Jewhan Edwards DL tied with one apiece.
Interceptions: Mike Rallis LB- Two.
Team Statistics: 30 points allowed per game. 390 yards allowed per game. 5.10 yards allowed per carry. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 163.45. Two sacks, five interceptions, five forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. 16.7 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 36.67. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 100. Red zone defense: 5-5.
Thoughts: With only two returning starters, most pundits and not-so-pundity "experts" felt that the Gophers' defense would be a mess. After further thought, I felt they wouldn't be as bad as projected, but they would still be bad.
As it happens, they are pretty awful.
Most of the story is fully told in the above stats. However, if you need more proof, they let up 38 points and over 400 yards of offense to FCS South Dakota. That is bad.
Furthermore, their only "good" defensive outing—against MTSU—was more a matter of the offense maintaining possession for over 45 minutes, rather than anything the defense did.
It is entirely possible that this defense, as a unit, is no worse than Michigan or Indiana. On the other hand, Michigan and Indiana have very powerful offenses to lean on. The Gophers don't have that luxury. If Minnesota hopes to win any conference games, their defense will need to step up.
Indiana Hoosiers
2 of 11
Opponents: Towson (FCS)- W 51-17. Western Kentucky- W 38-21
Team Leaders in Tackles: Tyler Repogle DL- 19, Mitchell Evans S- 14, Jeff Thomas LB- 9.
Tackles-for-loss: Terrance Thomas DL- Two.
Sacks: Terrance Thomas DL- One.
Interceptions: Three players tied with one each.
Team Statistics: 19 points allowed per game. 340 yards allowed per game. 5.08 yards rushing allowed per game. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 107.01. Two sacks, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. 16 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 33.33. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 40. Red zone defense: 4-4.
Thoughts: Let's start with the good.
The Hoosiers seemed to improve tremendously from game one to game two. They were outgained against FCS Towson, but they held Western Kentucky to under 300 yards of offense.
It is true that Western Kentucky is not a good team, but neither is Towson.
Even more promising is that Western Kentucky, like Towson and six of the teams in the Big Ten, features a dual-threat quarterback. Indiana was much more successful in shutting him down than they were in shutting down Towson's signal caller.
As for the bad, they are letting up over five yards per carry against two teams that are hardly the Wisconsin Badgers. Moreover, their competition is not going to be any more substantial next week as they play Akron, who is 0-3 and awful.
This defense does not appear to be good, but it remains to be seen if they are truly bad.
Either way, the first two weeks of the Big Ten season will tell the true tale, as they'll play Michigan and Ohio State; two teams that feature two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
Purdue Boilermakers
3 of 11
Opponents: At Notre Dame- L 12-23. Western Illinois- W 31-21. Ball State- W 24-13.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Ryan Kerrigan DE- 24. Logan Link DB- 18. Jason Werner LB- 18.
Tackles-for-loss: Ryan Kerrigan DE- 8.5.
Sacks: Ryan Kerrigan DE- three.
Interceptions: Jason Werner LB and Ricardo Allen DB are tied with one apiece.
Team Statistics: 19 points allowed per game. 340 yards allowed per game. 3.88 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 129.94. Eight sacks, two interceptions, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries. 19.3 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 41.03. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: zero (two attempts). Red zone defense: 8-12.
Thoughts: Can Ryan Kerrigan do everything? Judging by the stats, it is evident that he is going to try.
Unfortunately, with minimal help from the rest of his defense, and particularly the secondary, there is only so much the senior defensive end can do.
Right now, Purdue has allowed the third worst opposing quarterback efficiency rating in the Big Ten. When you consider that the second worst—Penn State—had their numbers affected by playing the No. 1 team in the country, it makes the Boilers' pass defense look even worse.
Next week, Purdue will be on upset-alert when they go against the pass-first Toledo Jets. After that, their first Big Ten game will be against Northwestern, which is also a pass-first team.
Put simply, Purdue had better patch up their secondary ASAP.
Michigan Wolverines
4 of 11
Opponents: UConn- W 30-10. At Notre Dame- W 28-24. UMass (FCS)- W 42-37.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Jonas Mouton LB- 28, Jordan Kovacs S- 27, Obi Ezah LB- 22.
Tackles-for-loss: Thomas Gordan DB and Craig Roh LB tied with three apiece.
Sacks: Mike Martin DL and Thomas Gordan DB tied with one each.
Interceptions: Four players tied with one each.
Team Statistics: 23.7 points allowed per game. 439 yards allowed per game. 4.59 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 120.78. Two sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries. 21.7 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 34.15. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 62.5. Red zone defense: 10-12.
Thoughts: The good news is that they've got three wins. This was obviously the result of the defense holding the opponent to fewer points than the opposing offense scored. Therefore, "Huzzah" for the defense. The further good news is that two of their wins were over teams that began the year as potential top 25 teams.
The bad news is that this defense has been fully exposed as porous.
To begin with, they let up 37 points and well over 400 yards of offense to FCS Massachusetts. Yes, UMass is consistently a very good FCS team, but they're still an FCS team.
Furthermore, the luster of their 30-10 win over UConn has faded considerably, due to the Huskies' loss to Temple.
It is inevitable that eventually, the Wolverines' defensive woes are going to catch up with them. It might happen against Indiana's multifaceted passing attack, or against Michigan State's or Iowa's play action game. However, sooner or later, it's going to happen.
The Wolverines simply have to hope their offense has enough firepower to outscore opposing teams.
Illinois Illini
5 of 11
Opponents: At Missouri- L 13-23. Southern Illinois- W 35-3. Northern Illinois- W 28-22.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Ian Thomas LB- 25, Martez Wilson LB- 25, Travon Bellamy S- 24.
Tackles-for-loss: Travon Bellamy S/ Ian Thomas LB- tied with four each.
Sacks: Seven players with one apiece.
Interceptions: No recorded interceptions.
Team Statistics: 16 points allowed per game. 333 yards allowed per game. 3.37 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 128.86. Seven sacks, zero interceptions, five forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries. 18.7 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 39.13. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: zero (two attempts). Red zone defense: 8-12.
Thoughts: Illinois' defense has not performed abominably. Among other things, it would appear the return of Martez Wilson, after missing last season with a neck injury, has helped tremendously.
However, there are two big issues. Firstly, with what is currently the third worst scoring offense in the Big Ten, the Illini defense will have to be more than middle-of-the-pack in order to win games.
Secondly, their pass defense is very suspect. Not only are they the fourth worst team in the conference against the pass, but they have snagged exactly zero interceptions.
Among other things, interceptions would help their offense out tremendously.
Due to preseason injuries to their projected starting cornerback and safety, the Illinois secondary woes are hardly surprising. Nevertheless, with their next three games against Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State, the Illini can hardly expect any pity.
Northwestern Wildcats
6 of 11
Opponents: At Vanderbilt- W 23-21. Illinois State (FCS)- W 37-3. At Rice- W 30-13.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Quentin Davie LB- 20, Justin Vaughn DB- 18, Brian Peters DB- 18.
Tackles-for-loss: Vince Browne DL- five.
Sacks: Vince Browne DL- three.
Interceptions: Quentin Davie LB- three.
Team Statistics: 12.3 points allowed per game. 357.3 yards allowed per game. 4.07 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 100.23. Six sacks, six interceptions, six forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. 18 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 34.09. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 66.67. Red zone defense: 6-8.
Thoughts: The conference-best 12.3 points allowed per game is impressive, as is the job NU's defense has done against the pass.
However, the rush defense has been decidedly sub par. Even Illinois State ran for over four yards per carry against the Cats.
Northwestern probably got somewhat lucky against Rice, in that the Owls only rushed on 23 out of 75 plays. Moreover, Rice's yards per carry average previous to the Northwestern game—against Texas and North Texas—was 2.40.
Against NU, Rice averaged 3.74 per carry.
If Northwestern doesn't improve against the run, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin are going to run right over them.
Luckily for the Cats, they won't see any of those teams until the middle of October.
Wisconsin Badgers
7 of 11
Opponents: At UNLV- W 41-21. San Jose State- W 27-14. Arizona State- W 20-19.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Culmer St. Jean LB- 17, Blake Sorensen LB- 16, Antonio Fenelus CB- 15,
Tackles-for-loss: Louis Nzegwu DE/ J.J. Watt DE- tied with three each.
Sacks: Kevin Rouse LB/ Louis Nzegwu DE- tied with two each.
Interceptions: Blake Sorensen LB/ Antonio Fenelus CB- tied with one each.
Team Statistics: 18 points allowed per game. 301.3 yards allowed per game. 4.48 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 123.5. Six sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. 14.3 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 31.58. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 100. Red zone defense: 6-7.
Thoughts: I haven't been overly impressed with the Badgers' defense in the two games of theirs that I've watched. Basically, they beat lesser quality opponents, though I don't think they looked particularly good doing it.
Their most challenging game was last week's contest against Arizona State. It is difficult to gauge how good ASU's offense is, as previous to their game against UW, they hadn't played another FBS team. Nevertheless, last year, the Sun Devils scored 22.3 points per game. This year, they only return three starters from that offense. In effect, they probably aren't all that good.
On paper, the ASU game does appear to be the Badgers' best defensive outing yet. They only allowed 12 points—seven of Arizona State's points came on a kick return—and Wisconsin held ASU to a field goal on two of their three scoring drives.
On the other hand, UW allowed ASU to run for six yards per carry. The Badgers are currently allowing well over four yards per carry on the season.
In two weeks, they will kickoff the Big Ten season against the Michigan State Spartans, who are averaging over six yards per carry, and over 200 yards on the ground per game.
In conclusion, the Badger rush defense is something that will have to be fixed, and fast.
Michigan State Spartans
8 of 11
Opponents: Western Michigan- W 38-14. Florida Atlantic (at Ford Field, Detroit, MI)- W 30-17. Notre Dame- W 34-31 (OT).
Team Leaders in Tackles: Greg Jones LB- 29, Chris Norman LB- 26, Chris L. Rucker CB and Eric Gordon LB tied with 24 each.
Tackles-for-loss: Colin Neely DL- Four.
Sacks: Colin Neely DL- 1.5.
Interceptions: Marcus Hyde DB and Johnny Adams CB tied with one apiece.
Team Statistics: 20.7 points allowed per game. 361.7 yards allowed per game. 2.41 yards allowed per carry. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 122.48. Four sacks, two interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries. 21.3 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 39.22. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 57.14. Red zone defense: 9-11.
Thoughts: Statistically speaking, MSU is currently the Big Ten's strongest run defense. Given the Spartans' linebacking corps, that is hardly surprising.
On the other hand, coming into the season, the big questions concerned the pass defense.
Thus far, there has definitely been improvement. The safety play has been much steadier than last season, and the return of cornerback Johnny Adams has been a major boost.
Sparty has given up the most yards through the air in the Big Ten, but that has had as much to do with who they've played as the defense. While FAU is a run-first team, both Notre Dame and Western Michigan are decidedly pass-first.
Regardless, even with the improvements, MSU is still middle-of-the-pack at best against the pass. Nonetheless, if their strong rush defense can force teams to be one-dimensional, middle-of-the-pack might just be good enough.
Penn State Nittany Lions
9 of 11
Opponents: Youngstown State (FCS)- W 44-14. At Alabama- L 3-24. Kent State- W 24-0.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Chris Colasanti LB- 27, Bani Gbadyu LB- 18, Michael Mauti- 18.
Tackles-for-loss: Devon Still DL- 3.5.
Sacks: Devon Still DL- Two.
Interceptions: Derrick Thomas DB and D'Anton Lynn DB tied with one each.
Team Statistics: 12.7 points allowed per game. 300.3 yards allowed per game. 3.37 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 135.99. Five sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. 15 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 25. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 60. Red zone defense: 4-4.
Thoughts: It is difficult to rank Penn State's defense, because they have done what they—and more specifically, the entire team—did last year.
They have disposed of lesser opponents, and gotten handled by quality opponents. Needless to say, PSU crushed Youngstown State and Kent State.
On the other hand, Bama averaged over five yards per carry against the Nits. Moreover, Bama's quarterback, Greg McElroy, had an efficiency rating of 174.32 in that game.
It means nothing if PSU beats up on Minnesota, for example, if Iowa and OSU walk all over them.
It is also worth noting that Youngstown State's quarterback had a 173.90 rating against Penn State, though that might have been accountable to first game bugs and jitters.
Still, it remains to be seen if Penn State's pass defense is an issue, or if the Nits show up against elite opponents.
Iowa Hawkeyes
10 of 11
Opponents: Eastern Illinois (FCS)- W 37-7. Iowa State- W 35-7. Arizona- L 27-34.
Team Leaders in Tackles: Jeff Tarpinian LB- 23, Jeremiah Hunter LB- 19, Tyler Nielsen LB/ Tyler Sash S- tied with 17.
Tackles-for-loss: Mike Daniels DL/ Karl Klug DL- tied with 3.5 each.
Sacks: Mike Daniels DL- Two
Interceptions: Four tied with one each.
Team Statistics: 16 points allowed per game. 266 yards allowed per game. 2.61 yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 112.54. Six sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. 13.3 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 32.56. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 25. Red zone defense: 5-9.
Thoughts: Up until last Saturday, I would have had Iowa in a dead heat with Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten defensive rankings.
Nevertheless, the Hawkeye defense did slip a bit in their loss to Arizona. I do not in any way think the defense played badly. In fact, of the Wildcats' 34 points, only 20 of them came off the defense. Moreover, seven of those points came off an extremely short, eight-yard field, due to a blocked punt.
However, the defense did have an opportunity to put the Cats—who, incidentally, have a nationally ranked top 20 offense—and the game away, and they didn't do it.
I still think Iowa has at least a top 20 defense, if not top 10, but in order to prove that they're in the Bucks' league, they will have to be able to carry the team when necessary.
They have done it many times over the past 10 years, but they have yet to show they can do that this year.
Ohio State Buckeyes
11 of 11
Opponents: Marshall- W 45-7. Miami- W 36-24. Ohio- W 43-7.
Team Leader in Tackles: Ross Homan LB- 21, Tyler Moeller LB/S- 16, Brian Rolle LB- 12
Tackles-for-loss: Tyler Moeller LB/S- 3.5
Sacks: Three players tied with one each.
Interceptions: Chimdi Chekwa CB- Two.
Team Statistics: 12.7 points allowed per game. 236.3 yards allowed per game. Three yards per carry allowed. Opposing quarterbacks' efficiency rating: 89.01. Three sacks, seven interceptions, nine forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries. 12.3 first downs allowed per game. Opponents' third down conversion percentage: 33.33. Opponents' fourth down conversion percentage: 25. Red zone defense: 2-5.
Thoughts: Even more impressive than the Bucks 12.7 points allowed per game, is the fact that only 17 of the 38 points they've allowed have come off the defense. Furthermore, seven of those 17 points were in garbage time.
In short, this is your typical staunch, Jim Tressel-coached, top 10 Buckeye defense.
Coming into the season, the biggest worries were in the secondary. Nevertheless, with an opposing quarterback efficiency rating of 89.01 and seven picks on the season, OSU has definitely taken steps to answer any questions.
With only three sacks, the pass rush might be a concern. However, with the Bucks' next three games against Eastern Michigan, at Illinois, and against Indiana, there probably won't be any substantial answers for a while.
