... touching on the following:
• Michigan entering the game at East Lansing: "I've been around the team this year, and there seems to be a feeling amongst a lot of these guys that it's their time, like this is the year where they break through on some things. I think they're feeling confidence in their quarterback, I think their defense has got their mojo — I don't know if they ever really lost it.
"We said it on the broadcast on Saturday night, we can count a number of times in the past where Michigan had a lead late, in a big game, in a big situation, and they couldn't do two things: one was run for first downs, and two, the defense couldn't get off the field when they needed to. That's happened in each of the last two Ohio State games. That happened in Iowa City two years ago. It happened in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. It happened last year against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. It happened last year against Wisconsin.
"On Saturday night, the defense got off the field, and the offense churned out first downs and just smothered the game with the running game. That is something that just hasn't happened enough in big games.
"We talked in the offseason about two important recruits. One was Ben Herbert, the strength and conditioning coach. I've been in the locker room where I've heard the players say, 'We're built for four quarters.' I have talked to Jon Jansen about [offensive line coach] Ed Warinner. He said in the offseason he really though [Warinner] would impact these guys in the offensive line scheme.
"I said, 'Are we going to notice it in the opener at Notre Dame?' He said, 'I don't think so, but you'll notice it by November.' Maybe November came early, because that was as overwhelming and dominant a Michigan offensive line performance I've seen in the run game, in a big game, in years. They were blowing Wisconsin off the ball."
• Michigan State's up-and-down season: "I've kind of come to expect them to play like Alabama when they're playing Michigan. That's sort of their modus operandi. It's interesting what the psychology might be. I imagine if they had lost to Penn State, they'd be playing like it's all or nothing, the whole season rides on one game. They could make good on all the ill will, if they'd just beat Michigan.
"Now I suppose they're shifting gears and saying, all right, if they beat Michigan, they'll have beaten two of the contenders in the Big Ten East and they can shift the focus to competing for the division. There's no doubt that Michigan has brought out the best in Michigan State.
"Of course, winning in State College has also guaranteed they've caught the Wolverines' attention. There will be no lip service to taking them absolutely seriously. If they had gotten just smoked Saturday in State College, as many people thought they were going to, you run the risk of an over-confident group going into East Lansing, no matter what's happening in the past.
"It's human nature, and these are young people that can fall victim to that. But the one thing about Michigan going into this is, they can start to establish themselves as a legitimate contender for the playoff. You look at the last four or five weeks, and people didn't really think of Michigan — including a lot of the fan base — as a playoff contender.
"But if you beat Wisconsin and Michigan State, and Michigan State on the road, you're setting yourself up to make a playoff run. You really are. If you lose to Michigan State, well, then you're in the unenviable position of needing some help.
"i got back to the original goal at the beginning of the year, that we talked about: trying to get to Columbus with a chance to win the East. I've made the case all year long that I thought Ohio State's defense made them vulnerable. I still believe that. You have to play well. You have to play near flawless, but there were some games they weren't Alabama North, in my opinion.
"If Michigan loses this weekend, they could still accomplish the goal of getting to Columbus with a chance to win the East. I know it's not ideal, and nobody's going to concede anything, but that goal cannot be lost if you lose one of the next two. Certainly, it feels like there's a demon this team wants to exorcise, going into East Lansing."
• The game itself: "I think 24 points would do it. If you look at the big games of most of Michigan State's biggest opponents in the last couple of years, even last year when they were winning games, they tied a record in this century for most wins with fewer than 20 points in a season. The Spartans did that last year.
"Their offense has put up some big point totals against some lesser opponents, but it tends to be their trend that in the bigger games, they do it with defense and getting just enough offense. One of the keys for Michigan is to try and get to 24. Even if you're less than that, Michigan State might need a big play on special teams, or a Michigan turnover, which they may get.
"In this game, they have done a great job of manufacturing some points, hitting Michigan with a fake here and there. You remember the fullback pass that went for 70 yards a couple of years ago? That's not necessarily a trick play. I can't imagine Michigan falling for a fake kick after what [Mark] Dantonio pulled last week. They'll probably just be in safe all the time, watching for onside kicks and watching for fake punts and field goals.
"But they might run something Michigan hasn't seen yet, like a fullback down the far sideline on a throwback play that went for such big yards. As it stands, Michigan just needs to go out, play their game and not make the big mistake. If they get to 24, chances are heavily in their favor that they win this game."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/michigan-wolverines-football-podcast-doug-karsch-with-john-borton-3
• Michigan entering the game at East Lansing: "I've been around the team this year, and there seems to be a feeling amongst a lot of these guys that it's their time, like this is the year where they break through on some things. I think they're feeling confidence in their quarterback, I think their defense has got their mojo — I don't know if they ever really lost it.
"We said it on the broadcast on Saturday night, we can count a number of times in the past where Michigan had a lead late, in a big game, in a big situation, and they couldn't do two things: one was run for first downs, and two, the defense couldn't get off the field when they needed to. That's happened in each of the last two Ohio State games. That happened in Iowa City two years ago. It happened in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. It happened last year against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. It happened last year against Wisconsin.
"On Saturday night, the defense got off the field, and the offense churned out first downs and just smothered the game with the running game. That is something that just hasn't happened enough in big games.
"We talked in the offseason about two important recruits. One was Ben Herbert, the strength and conditioning coach. I've been in the locker room where I've heard the players say, 'We're built for four quarters.' I have talked to Jon Jansen about [offensive line coach] Ed Warinner. He said in the offseason he really though [Warinner] would impact these guys in the offensive line scheme.
"I said, 'Are we going to notice it in the opener at Notre Dame?' He said, 'I don't think so, but you'll notice it by November.' Maybe November came early, because that was as overwhelming and dominant a Michigan offensive line performance I've seen in the run game, in a big game, in years. They were blowing Wisconsin off the ball."
• Michigan State's up-and-down season: "I've kind of come to expect them to play like Alabama when they're playing Michigan. That's sort of their modus operandi. It's interesting what the psychology might be. I imagine if they had lost to Penn State, they'd be playing like it's all or nothing, the whole season rides on one game. They could make good on all the ill will, if they'd just beat Michigan.
"Now I suppose they're shifting gears and saying, all right, if they beat Michigan, they'll have beaten two of the contenders in the Big Ten East and they can shift the focus to competing for the division. There's no doubt that Michigan has brought out the best in Michigan State.
"Of course, winning in State College has also guaranteed they've caught the Wolverines' attention. There will be no lip service to taking them absolutely seriously. If they had gotten just smoked Saturday in State College, as many people thought they were going to, you run the risk of an over-confident group going into East Lansing, no matter what's happening in the past.
"It's human nature, and these are young people that can fall victim to that. But the one thing about Michigan going into this is, they can start to establish themselves as a legitimate contender for the playoff. You look at the last four or five weeks, and people didn't really think of Michigan — including a lot of the fan base — as a playoff contender.
"But if you beat Wisconsin and Michigan State, and Michigan State on the road, you're setting yourself up to make a playoff run. You really are. If you lose to Michigan State, well, then you're in the unenviable position of needing some help.
"i got back to the original goal at the beginning of the year, that we talked about: trying to get to Columbus with a chance to win the East. I've made the case all year long that I thought Ohio State's defense made them vulnerable. I still believe that. You have to play well. You have to play near flawless, but there were some games they weren't Alabama North, in my opinion.
"If Michigan loses this weekend, they could still accomplish the goal of getting to Columbus with a chance to win the East. I know it's not ideal, and nobody's going to concede anything, but that goal cannot be lost if you lose one of the next two. Certainly, it feels like there's a demon this team wants to exorcise, going into East Lansing."
• The game itself: "I think 24 points would do it. If you look at the big games of most of Michigan State's biggest opponents in the last couple of years, even last year when they were winning games, they tied a record in this century for most wins with fewer than 20 points in a season. The Spartans did that last year.
"Their offense has put up some big point totals against some lesser opponents, but it tends to be their trend that in the bigger games, they do it with defense and getting just enough offense. One of the keys for Michigan is to try and get to 24. Even if you're less than that, Michigan State might need a big play on special teams, or a Michigan turnover, which they may get.
"In this game, they have done a great job of manufacturing some points, hitting Michigan with a fake here and there. You remember the fullback pass that went for 70 yards a couple of years ago? That's not necessarily a trick play. I can't imagine Michigan falling for a fake kick after what [Mark] Dantonio pulled last week. They'll probably just be in safe all the time, watching for onside kicks and watching for fake punts and field goals.
"But they might run something Michigan hasn't seen yet, like a fullback down the far sideline on a throwback play that went for such big yards. As it stands, Michigan just needs to go out, play their game and not make the big mistake. If they get to 24, chances are heavily in their favor that they win this game."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/michigan-wolverines-football-podcast-doug-karsch-with-john-borton-3
