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Any time a team keeps a team to 10 points or less in today's college football, that's really a solid outing. When you can do it to a team like Oklahoma with a Heisman hopeful at quarterback and weapons all over the field, it's an excellent outing. That's exactly what Jay Hill's unit did, holding the mighty Sooners to just 10 points on Saturday. It certainly wasn't perfect, but U-M's defense does come out looking quite stout at this point. 

Using a tool like Pro Football Focus allows us to see what happened on a player-by-player basis and gives some insight as to how the game really went. It's not gospel, but there are some things that just don't show up in the box score that can tell another part of the story.

Top Three Defensive Performers (25 snap minimum)

1. Edge Dom Nichols

It's not a surprise to see Nichols at the top of this list again. He has been a menace through the first two weeks of the season and has already established himself as one of the best pure pass rushers in the Big Ten. His overall grade of 89.1 was the highest on the team by a good margin as he continues to improve. He missed a few tackles, but he was lethal in pass rushing situations, which gave him the best grade on the defense. 

2. LB Troy Bowles

Another guy who might end up being a regular on this top three list, Bowles continues to rack up tackles. Through two games, the speedy linebacker has 21 stops including 11 solos and two tackles for loss. He obviously has a great football pedigree as the son of Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles, and it's showing up on the field. His football IQ combined with his speed and athleticism is resulting in a lot of action for the 6-0, 224-pounder.

3. CB Jyaire Hill

Head coach Kyle Whittingham called Hill's 4th quarter interception the play of the game and did ultimately give Michigan the win on Saturday. Hill played 58 of 65 snaps against the Sooners and was sticky in coverage all day. His overall grade of 81.1 was a result of being great in coverage and overall solid against the run. Throw in that crucial pick and that's why he's No. 3 this week.

Interesting Notes

Smith Snowden led the team in snaps this week with 62, as Zeke Berry's playing time took a hit. Berry logged just 28 snaps as the defensive coaches seem to have settled in on Snowden and Hill as their two main guys. Shamari Earls wasn't far off of Berry with 20 snaps of his own.

Edge Cam Brandt seems to have been pushed down the depth chart a bit due to the play of Dom Nichols and John Henry Daley. Even Nate Marshall and Benny Patterson III earned more snaps with 13 and 8 respectively, than did Brandt with just six. 

Freshman edge rusher Tariq Boney saw just one snap, but he pressured Mateer on the play and showed good speed, power and bend on the rep.

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