JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Michigan football team's defense has dealt with its fair share of criticism this season.

Statistically, it was the worst defense in the Big Ten. It battled injuries all season, especially in the secondary. And Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson sticking around Ann Arbor next year seems impossible.

The defense has heard the criticism, but fifth-year senior defensive lineman Greg Banks said the players hear the criticism and feel like they need to prove themselves.

“I mean it’s tough, but that comes with the territory," Banks said while meeting with the media on Thursday. "Every athlete knows that you’re going to have critics out there. You’re going to have people talking against you. People on the team are mature enough to take that responsibility and step up to the task.”

The Wolverine defense will have one last shot to step up to the task on Saturday when Michigan takes on Mississippi State in the Progressive Gator Bowl, but it won’t be easy. The Bulldogs boast the 16th-best running attack in the country and a powerful running quarterback in junior Chris Relf.

One of the reasons Banks feels his defense is ready to step up is the way some of the young players have progressed over three weeks of bowl practices.

“Courtney Avery, he’s been making big plays in practice … He’s shown a little bit of maturity, growth,” Banks said. “A lot of the young guys really came out of their shells and spoken up and said, ‘Hey, I need some help.’ ”

Injuries and departures forced the defense to turn to younger and younger players throughout the season, especially in the secondary. J.T. Floyd, a redshirt sophomore cornerback and first-year starter, was considered the unit’s elder statesman until he too went down with a season-ending ankle injury midway through the year. And that was after senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk was already lost for the year.

Many of the underclassmen have been forced to learn on the fly, which has resulted in a defense that has struggled in coverage and allowed big plays.

But the bowl practices haven’t just been about improving the underclassmen. With three weeks to prepare, the Michigan defense has had the most time to prepare for an opponent since the season opener against Connecticut, who the Wolverines held to just 10 points.

“If we look at the UConn game when we first came out, we had four weeks to prepare for that game, and we had great execution as a defense for that game,” redshirt junior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen said. “It’s a similar situation here. We have the exact same amount of time to prepare for another big game.”

Van Bergen said defending Mississippi State’s top plays is like second nature at this point because the defense has gone over them so many times for three weeks.

But the defense knows that even though it may be ready for the play, that alone doesn’t mean they’ll be able to stop it. It’s a lesson the players learned in the Big Ten, playing against teams that dare their opponents to stop the run.

“As far as just, knowing what they’re going to run and executing, they’re more like Wisconsin,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Kenny Demens said. “You know what’s coming, but they just execute really well.”

With the underclassmen improving and the defense three weeks in to preparing for Mississippi State’s running game, Demens feels like the Wolverines are ready to go.

“It’s a good challenge,” Demens said. “We like to hit. I like to hit. The other linebackers do also. So it should be a great challenge for us.”