ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nineteen minutes.



That’s what veteran defensive coordinator Don Brown keeps coming back to, over and over again. That’s what he harps on: 19 minutes at the start of the 2018 regular season, and 19 minutes at the end of it.



Those 19 minutes in the season opener at Notre Dame led to a 21-3 first-half deficit that the Michigan offense couldn’t climb out of. Those 19 minutes in the regular-season finale against Ohio State took a game that was within one possession — the Buckeyes led 27-19 late in the third quarter — and, with help from a blocked punt returned for a touchdown to open the floodgates, turned it into a lopsided 62-39 loss, the most points the Wolverines have ever given up in regulation.



And this is what he tells his 2019 team when he addresses it and when he motivates his players to learn from it:



“If we could’ve just squeezed out the first 19 and the last 19 —...