Michigan football vs Alabama: Matchups and Misconceptions in the Rose Bowl

Big Ten Defenses are Only Good Because the Big Ten Offenses are so Bad

I will concede there is some truth to this argument. However, it's more a little bit of both than one or the other. To say that every elite defense in the Big Ten would be pedestrian in any other conference simply isn't true. We're seeing this play out so far in bowl games where the Big 10 is 3-0. We'll get a better sense of how good some of these defenses really are when we see Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa all take on SEC offenses.

While the numbers might be inflated by the lack of offensive production in the conference, that doesn't mean these aren't really good defenses that Michigan has played and had success against all season.

Oh, and as for the argument that Michigan hasn't played anyone -- they've beaten three top 20 teams, two top 10 teams (both without their head coach and an injured starting quarterback), and bullied just about everyone else they've played. Just because Michigan football has played dispropotiionatley more bad teams doesn't mean they haven't proven themselves against elite competition this year.