Jesse Minter is ready to let his Michigan defense speak for itself. The defensive coordinator is aware that the ACC officiating crew set to call Monday’s national championship has a history of calling pass interference penalties.
Minter said he’s aware that the officiating crew has the highest PI rate of any crew in the country. That is a dangerous mix given Washington’s wide receivers and their propensity to produce big plays down the field.
“They draw about as much PIs as anybody in football as well with the times they throw the ball downfield. So a great challenge,” Minter said Saturday at the media day for the national championship. “Our guys gotta play really disciplined, really technique driven.”
However, Minter said that won’t change how the Michigan defense will approach the matchup.
“But not be afraid to go make plays and go make plays on the ball,” he said. “So we’re not going to let the numbers of that dictate how we play. We’re going to go play our style of football. We’re one of the least penalized teams in college football as a team and as a defense. So we’re looking forward to putting our best out there and seeing if it’s good enough.”
Michigan, in fact, is No. 2 in the country in number of penalties per game at just 2.9 for 26.2 yards.
