With 297 wins under his belt in his college coaching career, Nick Saban knows a thing or two about football. So, when Saban was asked to discuss the Big Ten team that he deems the biggest disappointment so far this season, he was quick to give his opinion.
The former Alabama coach appeared on the “College GameDay” broadcast on Saturday and said he believes the Michigan Wolverines are the Big Ten’s biggest disappointment, ahead of the 3-2 Wolverines’ game against Penn State.
Now, it’s not all bad. Michigan’s defense has been strong this season and hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points in a game. But it’s the offense that’s having issues.
Nick Saban believes Michigan has the best defense in the Big Ten, but its offense needs to catch up
“The disappointment for me is Michigan,” Saban said on the show, according to On3.com. “They haven’t found a way to utilize the personnel they have on offense, including Bryce Underwood. If they could figure that out, they have the best defense in the Big Ten.”
He added, “If they could just play offense and score a few more points, they’ll have a chance to turn it around. But, they’ve been a disappointment so far.”
It says a lot that Saban believes Michigan has the best defense in the Big Ten, and that’s a positive thing. This team has potential, but the Wolverines need more explosive plays on offense and just a better offense, in general, under Kyle Whittingham.
The Wolverines offense is averaging 315.8 total yards and 23.0 points per game this season, which isn’t good enough. Underwood has also had a hard time finding consistency, completing 59.3% of his passes for 881 yards and five touchdowns while throwing four interceptions.