Michigan football defense getting a crucial boost at the right time

After sitting out for two weeks — both of the Wolverines’ Big Ten games — star defensive tackle Mason Graham will be returning to the lineup this weekend at Minnesota. For the Michigan football defense, which is about to face one of the top-ranked rushing offenses in college football tomorrow, the defensive line is getting a crucial boost with Graham and others at the right time.

Michigan football defense getting a crucial boost at the right time

Minnesota is one of the top rushing offenses in the game right now, even ranking a few spots ahead of Michigan football heading into Week 6 of the season. Tomorrow, the Gophers will undoubtedly try to run the football on the Wolverines, who head into this weekend’s game with the top-ranked defense in the sport.

After sitting out against Rutgers and Nebraska, the Wolverines’ only two Big Ten games of the year so far, Mason Graham is set to return to the Michigan football lineup tomorrow, according to Rayshaun Benny, who spoke with the media earlier this week.

Mason Graham is coming back, but the defense is firing as a unit regardless

Graham — who Jim Harbaugh called a “gift from the football gods” — could not be coming back at a better time, though it is not just him that makes the defense so special. In the words of Rayshaun Benny, it takes everyone to “make the train turn.”

“From the players to the coaches, we all make the train turn,” Benny said on Tuesday. “We all work together as a unit. You know, they coach us, lead us in the right direction. We just follow in their footsteps.”

Michigan football has been dominant in all stages of the game this year, though Jesse Minter’s No. 1-ranked defense stands out as the team’s top unit through five games. Right now, no team is playing as fast, as hard, and allowing fewer points than Michigan is; with Graham back on the field, Minnesota’s offense is in for what will likely be its toughest test of the season.