The No. 19 Michigan Wolverines faced a must-win scenario just five weeks into the year after an early lopsided loss to Wisconsin, and with the season seemingly in the balance, Michigan’s defense made the difference in a 10-3 win over No. 14 Iowa.
Michigan hung 53 points on Rutgers last week, but the Iowa defense held Shea Patterson to just 147 passing yards on Saturday. Fortunately for the Wolverines, the Michigan defense put in its best performance of the year against Nate Stanley and the Hawkeyes.
Stanley was under constant pressure from the Michigan pass rush, which racked up eight sacks in the game. Aside from the 61-yard drive that resulted in the Hawkeyes only points of the day, Stanley was unable to lead any drives of 40 yards or longer, and threw three costly interceptions.
With the Michigan offense unable to sustain their own drives, Stanley had multiple chances in the fourth quarter to lead the Hawkeyes down the field – but penalties and sacks doomed Iowa in the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines held on to win 10-3, but Michigan’s schedule is about to get even tougher. After a trip to Illinois next weekend, the Wolverines will play No. 12 Penn State on the road in Happy Valley, and then host No. 9 Notre Dame in the Big House in successive weeks. Harbaugh improved to 9-11 against ranked opponents by beating the Hawkeyes, but the Wolverines will have to figure out their offense if they hope to survive the rest of the conference schedule.
