Wolverines Discuss 'Boa Constrictor' Effect After Beating Hoosiers, 52-7

Barrett, Harrell, Sabb share their views of opponents losing fight in third quarters that have seen Michigan post a 96-0 scoring edge

Photo by Derek Kornacki

Wolverines defensive tackle Kris Jenkins is the top-graded run defender at his position, according to Pro Football Focus.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – I was curious about something after Michigan’s 52-7 win over Indiana. Just how do “boa constrictors” view their prey?

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt said recently that the Wolverines are like those powerful snakes that restrict the blood flow of victims to finish them by shutting off their hearts.

The No. 2 Wolverines (7-0) have posted an overwhelming 96-0 scoreboard advantage in third quarters after wearing down opponents with their talent, depth, coaching adjustments and relentlessness.

And, so, I asked Michigan’s defenders after Saturday’s domination to describe the looks they see in the eyes and faces of opponents as games becomes theirs.

Linebacker Michael Barrett said, “Yeah, my favorite thing is just watching their hopes slowly go away, kind of diminish away from them. It kind of gets to the point where it’s just like: ‘Let’s go home.’ That’s kind of my favorite feeling. You feel that extra ‘ooomph’ go away.”

The Wolverines have allowed only 17 points in fourth quarters, but even those meager points are attributable to backups and third-stringers playing with the game put away.

Safety Keon Sabb, who intercepted a ball tipped by cornerback Michael Sainristil and returned it 28 yards early in the fourth quarter, agreed with Barrett.

“Over the course of the game, with how we’re playing, we see their passion diminish,” Sabb said of opponents. “Like the boa constrictor, you just want to keep applying pressure at all times until the end of the game.”

Edge rusher Jalen Harrell, who ended the Hoosiers’ first drive of the second half with a 13-yard sack on third-and-10, said, “Like Kris [Jenkins] likes to say, ‘You know, eventually they’re going to give up.’ So, we’ve just got to come with it for every single play and every single down, and eventually they’re going to wear down.’’

Jenkins entered the game with a 90.2 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus that was tops for any tackle in the nation.

On Indiana’s second position of the second half, Barrett sacked Tayven Jackson for an 11-yard loss and jarred the ball loose. Then he immediately recovered it.

The Hoosiers had minus-23 yards on those first two drives after half time.

And while the defense entered this weekend leading the country with 6.7 points allowed per game, the offense checked in at No. 17 with 37.3 points per game despite resting starters often by the middle of the third quarter. That defensive figure remains the same while the points are now up to 39.4.

Barrett, a graduate student, was asked if the Wolverines had ever operated on this dominating level in his time in Ann Arbor.

“Not from what I can think of,” he said. “Like Coach [Jim Harbaugh] always says, ‘We’re in the ass-kicking business, and business is booming.’ ”

This is a lot to live up to – being boa constrictors and butt-kickers.

And it is true that Michigan won’t play a ranked team until Penn State and Ohio State in two of the last three games.

So, plenty remains to be seen about just how great these Wolverines are.

But Rick Neuheisel -- a successful head coach at Colorado, Washington and UCLA, where he also was the 1984 Rose Bowl MVP – a few days ago said Michigan is his choice to win it all.

“I’m going to take the Wolverines,” Neuheisel said on CBS-TV’s excellent “Inside College Football” show. “I think they’re flexing right now. They’re toying with opponents…I think they’re good enough to run the table.”

Their 19 consecutive Big Ten wins matches the most Michigan has ever had. That total was first achieved by the 1990-92 teams that won the last three of five consecutive conference titles.

Beating Ohio State the last two years en route to winning Big Ten championships has resulted in both big expectations and credibility. Those in the know trust what they’re seeing from a team that gets the job done with defense, offense and special teams.

The boa constrictor gets the ball back for the offense, and the scoreboard after seven games reads: Michigan 276, Opponents 47.