For the most part, the Michigan football defense has been very good in the 2025 season. The Wolverines have only allowed one team (USC) to score over 30 points.
Four teams have scored 20 points on Michigan football, but Michigan State needed a garbage-time touchdown to reach 20.
Either way, the Wolverines are allowing 17.2 points per game, good enough for 14th in college football. The defense has been fine. At times, it has felt elite. At other times, it has felt average.
Injuries have certainly been a factor. They were against Purdue. But there's another issue haunting Michigan football on defense and it's the fact that the Wolverines rotate far too many players.
Michigan's rotations have been maddening on defense
It's been maddening at times this season. One example is Derrick Moore, who was compared to Terrell Suggs on Wednesday by Michigan football assistant Pernell McPhee.
Moore leads the Big Ten with 8.5 sacks. He's got three consecutive two-sack games. However, the Wolverines haven't played him as much as they should, it seems. Moore has played 320 snaps this season, according to PFF. Some others on the defense have played 488.
I'm not saying Moore should play every snap. But it feels like his snap count should be closer to 400. Cameron Brandt, a backup defensive end, has registered 284 snaps. Dominic Nichols has played 156, while TJ Guy, Michigan's second-best EDGE defender, has played just 239.
In all, that's 999 snaps. The problem is that Moore and Guy are only playing 55 percent of those snaps. That number should be closer to 75-80 percent.
Rest is important, especially for a pass rusher. That's understandable and why playing about 3/4 of the snaps seems appropriate. Instead, Moore is just about 60 percent of the snaps for the season.
You will often see Michigan start a drive with Brandt and Nichols, only for the staff to make a substitution once the opposing teams starting moving the ball into Michigan territory or in the red zone.
Way too many times, it feels like opposing teams are getting drives and points because Michigan is taking its best players off the field, Moore in particular, for too long.
There is some rotation at linebacker and in the secondary, too. Trey Pierce, who is clearly Michigan's second-best defensive tackle, also needs to play more. Injuries have hindered him, but I'd like to see Pierce (258 snaps) and Rayshaun Benny (307 snaps) play even more.
Maybe Michigan has been keeping them fresh for this final stretch, or at least for the Ohio State game. If Michigan can rotate players and beat Maryland and Northwestern, then fine. But it feels like the Wolverines have been playing with fire and if they keep putting their best players on the bench when the game is in doubt, they will eventually get burned.