Between his playing career and his current job with the Lions, Chris Spielman watched a lot of college football. A lot of Michigan football as a TV analyst for various networks, most recently at ESPN. He also saw the Wolverines at their best as an All-American linebacker at Ohio State during an eight-year stretch in which Michigan won six conference titles -- and six games against the Buckeyes. (Funny how that works.)
When Spielman sizes up this year's Michigan squad ahead of Saturday's clash with Michigan State, he sees something the Wolverines have been missing.
"Watching both teams, it reminds me of toughness," he said Friday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "That’s what Michigan and Michigan State are, at their best. I really, really like the way Michigan is playing this year. They’re playing with a genuine confidence, which I haven’t seen in a lot of years."
It's hard to dispute -- and why dispute anything with Chris freaking Spielman? After a year in which the program sunk to unknown depths under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan is No. 6 in the country entering the final month of the season. The Wolverines ranked 95th nationally in scoring defense last year. They're second this year under new DC Mike Macdonald. They ranked 66th in scoring offense last year. They're 15th this year, and fifth in rushing offense.
Longtime Big Ten Network analyst Dave Revsine said Friday the difference in Michigan's defense is "staggering."
"It’s just night and day," Revsine told the Stoney & Jansen Show. "They were so bad last year and to be second in the nation in scoring defense, it’s a remarkable turnaround. To me, it’s one of the best stories not just in the Big Ten but in the country, the way they’ve gotten that defense back."
Revsine added, "The pass rush and the ability to blow up plays is so different than a year ago. And then they’re better in the secondary. I mean, the secondary last year, my goodness, every 50-50 ball the other team got or it was pass interference. It really got ugly."
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That defense will be put to the test Saturday against one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Spartans, also undefeated at 7-0, rank eighth in the nation in yards per play and boast a legitimate Heisman candidate in transfer running back Kenneth Walker III, who leads the country in rushing.
Spielman, like the rest of us, has been blown away by Michigan State's rebound in Mel Tucker's second season after the Spartans were picked last in the Big Ten East.
"I didn’t see this coming," said Spielman. "Just a credit to Mel -- and a typical Michigan State guy. Michigan State guys, in my experience playing against them and covering them for all those years, were normally tough, warrior guys, man. And they’re getting pretty good quarterback play and the running back kid is doing great. I’m just looking forward to a good old-fashioned, beat-‘em-up game. Let’s see who’s toughest."