No. 4 Penn State
Last year, Penn State was the only team in the Big Ten to hold Ohio State under 30 points. In fact, the Nittany Lions’ defense was able to hold most of their opponents under 30 points and kept them in many games.
Penn State ended the season ranked in the top 10 in total defense.
The Nittany Lions lost defensive stalwarts Yetur Gross-Matos and Cam Brown to the draft as well as a few other guys who helped secure this team. There is no shortage of talent waiting to play, however, and if Penn State can hold up against the big plays James Franklin’s defense should be one of the best again this season.
No. 3 Michigan
Michigan tends to have a really good defense…until they play good teams. Don Brown capitalizes on shutting down many opponents, but in 2019 the only times the Wolverines lost were when they gave up more than 25 points.
I expect Michigan to once again take advantage of smaller programs, but eventually something has to change against bigger teams. This may be the year that someone else gets the tasks of “helping” Don Brown in big games.