There is no doubt that Ryan Walters has turned this defense around.
Since the Virginia game, this team has kept opponents to under 24 points in 7 conference games and in 8 games total; under 20 points in 6 of those 7 games; under 14 points in 3 games; and under 7 in 1. In Lovie’s tenure this happened 16 times in 57 games, often against weaker out-of-conference conference teams or weaker Big Ten offenses like Rutgers or Purdue.
The revitalization of the defense begs some looking into.
Stats Dive
Almost every player from the 2020 defense returned this year, and more importantly, key players like Jake Hansen and Milo Eifler, were either lost to injury or the NFL.