The best plays of the Michigan defense from 2023. Where do they rank in the pantheon of great CFB defenses? Let me know below! Twitter/Instagram: Props05 GO BLUE
Hell yes they are 2024 is gonna be a good year I’m not gonna assume we will do it again I’ll be so happy if we went all the way again to 15-0 for the 2024 season but this year is gonna be different I’ll say this we will continue winning our big 10 championship game for sure we always do back to back we’re the best team ever and I’m sure Alex Orgji is our new starter he also good
If Bo Schembechler was still alive, this team would bring him to tears from sheer happiness. His football brain would have gasms because he used to always preach all this to his football teams. Team 144 defense, virtually had no holes in their depth. They were all incredibly disciplined and outstanding in their positions at the highest level and most importantly had the greatest team synergy.
Young man, you weren't alive when Bo was alive. I watched him coach. He wasn't really that good. His only milestones he had to reach: beat MSU,beat OSU! He never won a natty not even close. Back 5he season would end and then nerds would calculate who wins the national championship! After the bowl games were over a 3rd party could decide who the best team is.
The thing about this team was it was exactly that a team. No one bigger than anyone else. They rooted for each other every play and played hard for each other.
I remember watching the’97 Defense and feeling like I was watching not only the best defense Michigan had ever had, but possibly the best defense any college team has ever had. Team 144 is right there with the ‘97 team. Mikie Frozone is the best db after the interception return it that I can ever recall. The entire defense was loaded at every position and in many cases the 2 player at many positions was just as good as the 1. Performance on the field is hard to pick one over the other. But, the depth of team 144 was just incredible. You take your pick, but this old man is gonna ride with the Cartier Boys. Go Blue! What an awesome season, thank you boys for all the happy memories you have given us.
@@-sdot83 I was just talking about the defense, not the entire team. 23 offense is sooooo much better than the 97 offense. Starting with the quarterbacks. Griese was horrible in 95 & 96. He didn’t make the mistakes in 97, but he was still the worst player on that offense. I still don’t understand how Carr could play him over Brady, even a young Brady. I think 2023 beats 97 8 out of 10 times. The 2 the 97 team wins are because their Heisman Trophy winner makes some huge plays. Those would be some great games to watch though.
I would say this years defense was better because of how much the game has changed in favor of offenses. QB's throw it deep more than ever before, defensive players aren't allowed to make nearly as much contact with the receivers as they used to and they're not allowed to be overly physical like they used to be. I see a lot of guys on Michigans defense who would've done just fine playing back in the day where you could put your helmet down and knock the ball carrier on his ass and not get flagged for it
I was gonna type in a lot of the stuff that you said but you said it all for me. That '97 team left a lot of great memories. They were so fun to watch. From top to bottom, i do think they are the best defense of all time...and then the '23 defense came along. Wow!!! Amazing at every position and so much depth! Gonna be a lot of great memories from this season too. Let's just say we have the 2 best defenses of all time. It's Great To Be A Michigan Wolverine! Hail To The Victors!! Go Blue!!!
Watching this, you get a great idea just how dynamic a player Mike Sainristil was on that defense. Anyone who is making an "Michigan - All Time Defense" team has to include Mike as one of the DBs. Simply put, he was the best defensive player on a 15-0 national championship team with a defense full of incredible players. Just imagine a secondary with Woodson, Sainristil and take your pick of other great corners like Ty Law, Marlin Jackson, Leon Hall, etc etc, not to mention all the great safeties like Tripp Welborne, Marcus Ray, Ernest Shazor etc etc (I dunno if I'd have Peppers as a DB or LB; probably an LB). In any case, I'd take an All Time Michigan Secondary over any teams All Time WR Corps.
@@cornelllax05 I'm having a hard time coming up with one myself! I was pleasantly surprised when he played well during the '22 season after his switch from WR but I think I fell in love with him when he made that PBU on Stover in the endzone, in the 4th quarter. It was an All Time hustle play
I disagree. Best defense in college history is still the ought one D. As in 19 ought 1. Gave up 0 points all year, only 1 team crossed the 50. Stanford just gives up in the Rose bowl game at 49-0.
I agree.....and ppl need to keep in mind that that defense only played 2-3 quarters. They kept thier starters out for most of the 3rd and 4th quarters through the first 5-6 games. If the starters stayed in throughout the entire game ( 5-6) undoubtedly they are pitching shutouts
Absolutely but man it will be extremely tough. This the greatest Michigan team of all time. There’s a great chance me or you will not see another team this great in our lifetime!
@@-sdot83 I have to agree. Teams like this come around rarely. Burrow's LSU team was good, but the adversity and camaraderie coupled with their success this team exuded for the past 3 years may never be matched. #144Bet
Yooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! This video was Super Lit🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Go Blue!!!! Listen I'm 43 I was a teenager in 97' I remember that defense VERY WELL!!!! I remember thinking we will never see an elite athlete like Woodson ever again!!! Well guess what!!! We had a few Woodson's on the team this year and it got us another Natty!!!!! And I say this without a doubt this is the Greatest Defense I've ever seen play college football now the Greatest Offense ever is definitely hands down 2019 LSU. Anyway I'm rambling, yo this video was crazy!!!!!🤯💯🔥👍🏽
Great video! Extremely well done! I was 18 in the 1997 season. Been an avid football fan since 1985. Fell in love with the sport early & I’ve seen a lot of great defenses. This one, all things considered, is the best I’ve ever seen. From the front 4 to the secondary you have pros all over the field. And the mark to a great defense is pressure on the QB without sacrificing DB’s & do they converge on the ball? You can 100% check both those boxes with this 2023 defense. I’d put this Michigan defense up against any offense. Look at the 2021 Ohio state offense. All 3 WRs & the QB were first round draft picks. Thats nuts. Plus a load of the offensive line I’m sure. Then the 2023 defense was ran the exact same way but with more talent & more experience running that pro style defense. All time great D. Fu*k the haters. Fu*k Ohio State. Michigan vs everybody. Go BLUE!!!😤✊🏼
The 1997 championship and this 2023 championship are bookends. Both won by playing spectacular defense. In an era where it's all about air raids and pinball scores, Michigan did it the old fashion way.
The Defensive play of the Season was @ 8:12 to 8:21 when No.78 Grant a 350 pound tackle 5 yards behind a breaking free running back of Penn State No.13 Allen chases him down accelerating faster than him in stride, GET OUT !!! Tell me again a Big Man can't run.
Grant is an absolute MONSTER. Can't wait to see what he does next year! Crazy to think that he still has a few more years of eligibility left, too, and actually DROPPED weight to get stronger.
Idc if thos team is better or worse then 97s. All I can say is a huge thank u to this team for giving me this feeling again after so long. After a decade n a half of interference with the program from multiple admins. After a decade n a half of being osu punching bag.....media punchlines n so on. I had forgotten how great it feels. N this yr is even better. Knowing what both the conf n the league did to try to oust mich n none of it mattered. Those kids ate every bit of crap thrown at them n still emerged victorious. So to me this win means more. This whole season felt like a giant middle finger to the league and to the big ten.....mtgat alone makes this one worth so much more GO BLUE!!!!!
Man, that MSU game looked like they were playing a small high school from the Thumb. And I consider myself a fan of State. They’re my second favorite team. Hate to see it be that lopsided.
Love the intro music!! If Jim leaves he will be missed but he gave us a championship so he has the rite to go where he wants don't know where going to get a coach as good as he is
Sucks he liquidated the staff on his way out but whatever. He did what he came here to do and now he wants that Lombardi Trophy. All the best to him. GO BLUE!!
People blame Milroe and the center on this play at the beginning. The blame should be on the right tackle. He got pushed back into the quarterback and his leg tripped Milroe who otherwise could’ve stayed up and ran a little to the left and maybe scored. Great play by Michigans defense.
Speaking as a Washington Husky alum and fan. The 2023 championship was well deserved and overdue. Hoping to see the Wolverines go 4-0 against the Buckeyes. Best wishes for 2024.
unbelievable how much this was tailor-made for my 13 year old self. michigan highlights. defensive highlights. with my 2 favorite songs from that time, Amazing and Can't Tell me Nothing, by my favorite artist. It made me happy for that little kid who didn't know how much this team would make him happy later. belatedly, but finally. Heck of a ride, wouldn't change anything. Go Blue
tbh i took this defense for granted during the season.... There should be several NFL starters and I think 3-4 guys with superstar NFL potential: Will Johnson, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant. I think Junior Colson is severely underrated as well, the guy was playing with 2 clubs on his hands. i honestly think this defense could rival some of the best college defenses ever in terms of translating to the NFL Even going into the 2024 season, the defense should reload and be great with Martindale. Sherrone Moore will have to get that OL and QB position ready if they want a chance at repeating though
Kris Jenkins. Mikey Sainristil. Will Johnson. Mason Graham. Kenneth Grant. Jaylen Harrell. Josiah Stewart. Rod Moore. Junior Colson. Josh Wallace. Ja'Den McBurrows. Braiden McGregor. Makari Paige. Keon Sabb. Cam Goode. Michael Barrett. Quinten Johnson. I mean, COME ON! There is absolutely NO WAY you're beating that defense, even on their worst day.
I love my Wolverines but they’re not #1. Now they are probably top 10 for sure all time between 7-10. Hella great team these teams don’t come around often so I hope everyone enjoyed the ride……and a wonderful ride it was!
@@-sdot83the way that defense hid coverages and ran formations that confused Saban and had Penix say he was “hearing ghosts” says it all. They had the best defensive scoring avg of 10.2 and beat a 2,2,4 and 10 seed to win a Natty. That is top level performance. People see past teams that score points but they don’t touch what that defensive unit did. Nobody fears Day and O$U, because they are soft. UM was able to just flat out bully everyone. Unfortunately traditional college ball is over and we are witnessing what it looks like to buy a title with what O$U is doing. There is no talent in that, that’s just writing a check. Harbaugh developed 3 and 4 stars to crush teams filled with 5 stars. What a year that was to watch.
My favorite play from defense will always be when we were playing Ohio State in Ohio and we were leading 31-20 and Stroud threw the ball across his body to the end zone and the receiver caught the ball but Mikey without even touching the receiver dives and touching only the ball 🏈 knocks it out of his hands. And ever since that, Mikey stayed on defense, even though he was a great wide receiver it was then we all knew were he belonged and the rest was history.
As good as the defenses had been in 2021 & 2022, the one thing they didn’t do was force many turnovers. This team did, and often at the most crucial moments (see OSU and Washington games).
anyone who thought they werent the best defense was crazy. These boys were DIFFERENT. Held the #1 offense to 13 points. Couple blown coverages but other than that LOCKDOWN. and their trenches were insane.
With all of the talk about scandal, and strength of schedule, and the down year of the SEC, history will not accurately remember who good this defense truly was.
Great video! Pure domination all the way through, I will say only play that wasn't on here that should've been was will Johnson's interception in the national championship
Michigan is the 1st team to win a national championship with only 2 five star recruits on that team. Proving stars are not everything. Mikey was a 2-3 star coming out of high school and ended up being the best DB in college football.
