Michigan's defense was quite good against Minnesota, but they were simply asked to do too much. Jay Hill's unit was on the field for nearly 40 minutes. That is just not fair to a group, especially when the offense isn't scoring points. The defense did intercept Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey twice, including one that went all the way back for a touchdown thanks to linebacker Nathaniel Staehling's incredible recognition on a screen pass, but they can't be asked to score as many or more points than the offense. That won't get it done and it didn't on Saturday. Looking at the defensive box score shows you how sound Michigan's defense was, but obviously there's more to it.

Using a tool like Pro Football Focus allows us to see what happened on a player-by-player basis and gives some insight as to how the game really went. It's not gospel, but there are some things that just don't show up in the box score that can tell another part of the story.

Staehling was Michigan's most impactful overall defender on the afternoon. The North Dakota State transfer made the play of the game late in the second quarter, jumping a Drake Lindsey screen pass and returning it 79 yards for a touchdown to give Michigan a 14-7 lead. Beyond the game-altering takeaway, he was sharp in coverage and consistently blew up plays in space, accumulating 1.5 tackles for loss and 5 overall stops. 

Moa stepped up with a heavy workload on run defense, logging 29 of his 37 snaps against Minnesota's ground game. He was one of the cleanest tacklers on the field, finishing second on the team with seven total tackles while missing only one attempt. His sound positioning kept the Minnesota rushing attack in check whenever he was on the field. He also surrendered only one catch but stopped it cold for a one-yard loss. 

Etta was Michigan's premier anchor up front. Operating strictly on the interior defensive line, he dominated his gaps with a game-high 80.4 run defense grade among all Michigan defenders. While he didn't tally any official quarterback pressures, his ability to plug run lanes and consume double teams allowed Michigan's linebackers to flow freely throughout the day. 

For a front four/seven that is extremely deep and talented, they weren't overly disruptive. Across 68 total defensive snaps, Michigan generated zero sacks and only seven total pressures. 

Linebacker Troy Bowles led all Michigan defenders in overall snaps with 65, spending 56 of those snaps lined up in the box. He also recorded two of the defenses four total QB hurries when he smacked Lindsey on very effective blitzes, one of which led to cornerback Smith Snowden's first interception as a Wolverine.

Even though the defense did play pretty well, they missed too many tackles. Michigan accumulated 15 misses as a team. Four players suffered tackling grades below 40.0: Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Chase Taylor and John Henry Daley.