Defensive breakdowns continuing to plague Wolverines

Michigan's defense comes into Iowa week locked in a vicious cycle.

Give up big play, big first down and tons of yards. Rinse, repeat.

The Wolverines (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) allowed 536 yards of offense, the fifth-worst single-game performance in program history, in their 34-17 defeat to Michigan State last week.

Michigan allowed five plays of more than 40 yards, including two rushing touchdowns (one for 61 yards, one for 41) and three passes.

You allow two long TD runs and your percentage for victory plummets.

“Run defense is simple,” defensive end Ryan Van Bergen said. “Everybody has one gap. You're accountable for that gap. We weren't in the right one twice. Same play. We have to figure that out. We will figure that out.”

Even UM quarterback Denard Robinson, who was human with three interceptions against the Spartans, couldn't rally a defense that ranks 112th out of the 120 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 450.67 yards a game. Michigan is 77th in the nation in scoring defense allowing 26.83 points a game. (Iowa is No. 1 in the nation, by the way, at 10.2 points.)

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins tore apart Michigan's secondary for 284 yards and a touchdown. UM's young secondary is 119th in FBS, allowing 304.33 yards a game.

For all the good Robinson does with his feet and shoelaces, the Michigan defense all too often doesn't hold up its end of the deal.

“We just didn't execute well,” Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I think sometimes instead of tackling, we were reaching for the ball a little bit. We need to get guys on the ground sooner.”

The fixes won't be easy.

Senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk went down for the season with a broken ankle in camp.

Last week when senior James Rogers left the game with cramping, the Wolverines were down to true freshman Cullen Christian, who gave up a 41-yard completion.

The UM secondary also allowed a 43-yard flea flicker that set up a score and a 45-yarder to MSU receiver Mark Dell.

Rogers is the only senior in the UM secondary, a group that calls regularly upon red-shirt freshmen, sophomores and, last week, a true freshman.

“Coming in '06 under coach (Lloyd) Carr, it was difficult,” said senior defensive tackle Greg Banks. “The playbook obviously is a little bit thicker than it was in high school. The speed of game and the strength of the players ... It's sort of a shock, but every week the young guys are getting better.”

UM personnel took another potential hit last week when nose guard Mike Martin, a 6-2, 299-pound junior defensive tackle, left late in the game with an ankle injury.

Martin leads UM with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Rodriguez said Monday he should be fine for Iowa.

And then there are the questions about co-defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

He spent four seasons as Syracuse's head coach before being ousted. Robinson won two Super Bowl rings as D-coordinator with the Denver Broncos, but he resigned unceremoniously after three seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator when the Chiefs allowed 5.2 yards a carry, a yard above the league average in 2003.

The Wolverines run a 3-3-5 alignment, which relies on gap control. It hasn't held up.

“We have not been our best Michigan team yet, by far,” Van Bergen said.