⚡ CFB Dashboard

Michigan has surrendered just three touchdowns in three games, and those strong defensive efforts have allowed the Wolverines to emerge unscathed from the non-conference slate despite growing pains on offense.  U-M held Oklahoma to just 10 points while forcing two turnovers, and while UTEP scored two first-half touchdowns in Week 3, Jay Hill's unit responded with a dominant third quarter featuring four three-and-outs and a pick-six. Now the defense will be challenged by an Iowa team with a strong line and rushing attack, and which believes it has more offensive firepower compared to previous seasons.  Defensive coordinator Jay Hill offered his perspective on Michigan's defense through three games during a Wednesday press conference. Here are the biggest takeaways:  Blown coverages have led to all three touchdowns  Hill said he's pleased with the buy-in from the Michigan players and the product he's seen on the field, and he noted their mistakes have been costlier than normal. All three touchdowns the Wolverines have surrendered — one to Oklahoma, and both to UTEP — featured blown coverages and receivers running unmarked downfield. "Overall, I'm pretty happy with where we're at," Hill said of his unit. "I think we've done a good job for the most part of getting out of drives. I think we've been very dominant at times, swarming at times. Coverage has been sticky for the most part, and I think for the most part the defensive line has dominated like we thought they would. "We do have some things to clean up right now. We've given up three touchdowns in three games, but all three of them are off blown coverages, which are very uncharacteristic of us. Somebody coming off coverage when they shouldn't, so we've got to clean that up a little bit. We can clean up some of the gap integrities at times in the run game, and I think right now — for the most part — we've been really, really good at times, and the mistakes have been a little more costly than normal, and so we do have to clean that stuff up."  The linebacker room is far exceeding expectations  Perhaps the biggest question mark on the Michigan team heading into the 2026 season concerned the linebacker room, which replaced Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan. That group is playing "beyond what anyone really expected at this point," Hill said.  "I think Coach [Alex] Whittingham has done a phenomenal job with the whole linebacker group. They've all progressed so far, and we're really doing more in our package than I thought we could at this stage," Hill said. The DC cited performance or health-related improvements from Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, Aisea Moa and Max Alford, who form the a rotation with Troy Bowles, Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Staehling   "They've been physical. They've picked up the scheme well. I think they're doing a real good job," Hill said. "[Iowa] will be, I think, the first time they've been really physically tested as far as the physicality of the running game. And so, I'm excited to see how this game goes with that. "But, yeah, I mean, they've exceeded everything. They're playing like NFL-style linebackers right now. We need them to continue to do that."  Why Michigan is more man heavy  The Wolverines are running more man coverage principles than Hill utilized last season at BYU in large part because they have confidence in cornerbacks Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Smith Snowden and Shamari Earls.  "We have good corners here, and so we're going to put those guys in coverage and rely on their ability to cover. I think it fits the system of Michigan with our defensive line, our ability to cover on how we've called it thus far," Hill said. "But I will say we changed things up, too. In the Oklahoma game, everybody thought we were just sitting in man, man, man, and we were playing all kinds of different combination coverages and zones and stuff to try to confuse the quarterback. It wasn't just all man."  Expect Zeke Berry to play against Iowa  The Wolverines anticipate that Zeke Berry will return against Iowa after the cornerback missed the UTEP game with an injury. "We expect Zeke back. He practiced yesterday; he'll practice today," Hill said. With Berry sidelined, Shamari Earls earned his first start against the Miners. "Shamari has done a good job. We really feel like we've got four or five corners that we can throw out there at any time to play," he said. "Shamari has had, at times through camp, some of the most flash of anyone, and then there's things that we're continuing to work on, but we expect him to be a great player in the program."