Top 5 Defensive Coverage Studies of 2023: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn St, Iowa and Miami (OH)
This article is about the top 5 defenses and the coverages they run that makes them successful. We take a look at the top 5 in college football.
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#1 Michigan
The Michigan Defense was #1 in points allowed giving up 9.5 points per game. They were outstanding and they held 9 out of 13 opponents to 10 points or less. They were #2 in yards allowed only allowing 240 yards per game. They also had a great run defense only allowing 3.0 yards per game.
They were predominantly a zone team with cover 3 being the #1 coverage. From a breakdown perspective they played zone on 70% of their snaps. They were an effective zone team with cover 4, 2 and 6 being the other coverages.
The top 5 coverages Michigan ran were as follows:
Cover 3 29%
Cover 4 18%
Cover 6. 14%
Cover 1 13%
Cover 2 9%
#2 Ohio State
The #2 team defensively in 2023 was Ohio State giving up 11.4 points per game. They gave up only 148 passing yards per game and were top 5 in numerous categories.
Their coverages were as follows:
Cover 1 28%
Cover 3 27%
Cover 4 16%
Cover 2 10%
#3 Penn State
Penn State was #3 defensively giving up 11.8 points per game under Manny Diaz.They also had the top rushing defense in the country only allowing 2.0 rushing yards per game. Also, they were #1 in yards allowed per game at 230. They were a great defense.
Their coverages were as follows:
Cover 1 33%
Cover 3 24%
Cover 2 19%
Cover 4 7.5%
Cover 6 7.0%
#4 Iowa
Iowa under Coach Parker was again outstanding. What a run he has had as defensive coordinator. They were top t0p 10 in several categories. #4 in points allowed at 13.2 They held teams to 3.0 yards per rush and were 2nd in opponents yard per rush at 3.0 yards.
Coverage Breakdown
Cover 3 35%
Cover 4 19%
Cover 2 10%
Cover 6 9.5%
Cover 1 6%
#5 Miami (OH)
Miami of Ohio had a great year and played some great teams very tough. They only let up 15.6 points per game and were very effective. They don’t have maybe the category stats like some of the other teams, but they were still very good. They were exceptional on 3rd down , holding teams to 29% efficiency on 3rd down. They are a single high team, playing 72% of their snaps in cover 3 or 1.
Coverage Breakdown:
Cover 3 47%
Cover 1 25%
Cover 4 14%
These are the top 5 defenses and what they have played. I hope you enjoyed this statistical breakdown!