... Ohio State and more. He talked about ...
• The scramble at the end of the first half against Indiana: "He didn't mean to is a funny response [by the umpire on the officiating crew, regarding an Indiana player kicking the football that was to be spotted with the clock running out]. How many times have you grabbed a facemask and taken a guy, intentionally to the ground. Never! It's always an accident. It's still a penalty.
"It wasn't an accident. It was purposeful. He achieved what he was looking to achieve. It's a dirty play, but if we, as Michigan, make a better decision with our time down there, and we don't throw a route that's potentially not going to make it to the sideline or be in the end zone, that's the risk you run. If we've taken anything away from that, we've learned how to manage that situation possibly better … I don't think you can sit back and say, 'Oh, we did everything right. If the ref would have done his job and that kid wouldn't have kicked the ball, we'd have had a touchdown.'
"No, you've got to control what you can control. That second play you have dialed up needs to be a shot to the end zone, or needs to go out of bounds.
"It was a dirty play, and there were more dirty plays. [Fifth-year senior defensive end] Chase Winovich — hopefully he's okay, because that play was much worse and much more egregious than what happened in that kick. You've got to play through some of those things, look at the film and realize we could have taken that wouldn't have made him kicking the ball be a factor for them."
• Winovich's injury: "I have a soft spot for defensive linemen. I'm tired of watching defensive guys get sent out of the game because they hit a quarterback high, or they're coming off a block and they rolled into a quarterback's legs and that's a penalty. But we do nothing — NOTHING — to protect defensive linemen or linebackers in the box.
"When are we ever going to see there be an equal value placed on that. Oh, it's the same deal. If you hurt a defensive end, you should be in trouble, just like if you hurt a wide receiver … but no, the wide receiver scores touchdowns, so we don't care about the defensive ends.
"I know I'm complaining from a place of bias, because I played defensive line, but at the same rate, there are too many times when you see guys get high-lowed, or something that would classify as dirty, and nothing happens. No repercussions. Just put your second guy in. To me, that's frustrating, and something not just the Big Ten but the NCAA as a whole needs to take a look at.
"Are we protecting every player the same way as we're protecting the guys that make us money?"
• Ohio State: "The way Ohio State has played to this point, they have no business beating us in this game, even though it's at their place. They have guys that are four-star, five-star guys, they have talent. If for some reason, the 11 guys on each unit get chemistry, it's going to be a long game.
"I'm excited about what could happen. I'm excited for this team to finish their Revenge Tour. I'm all about their Revenge Tour. That being said, it's going to take every single guy, intensely focusing through every single day, starting today. Film room. What Indiana game? Never heard of it. We've got to play Ohio State.
"Anything that isn't sleeping goes toward Ohio State week and making sure you win this game."
Here is the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/mi...l-podcast-ryan-van-bergen-with-john-borton-12
• The scramble at the end of the first half against Indiana: "He didn't mean to is a funny response [by the umpire on the officiating crew, regarding an Indiana player kicking the football that was to be spotted with the clock running out]. How many times have you grabbed a facemask and taken a guy, intentionally to the ground. Never! It's always an accident. It's still a penalty.
"It wasn't an accident. It was purposeful. He achieved what he was looking to achieve. It's a dirty play, but if we, as Michigan, make a better decision with our time down there, and we don't throw a route that's potentially not going to make it to the sideline or be in the end zone, that's the risk you run. If we've taken anything away from that, we've learned how to manage that situation possibly better … I don't think you can sit back and say, 'Oh, we did everything right. If the ref would have done his job and that kid wouldn't have kicked the ball, we'd have had a touchdown.'
"No, you've got to control what you can control. That second play you have dialed up needs to be a shot to the end zone, or needs to go out of bounds.
"It was a dirty play, and there were more dirty plays. [Fifth-year senior defensive end] Chase Winovich — hopefully he's okay, because that play was much worse and much more egregious than what happened in that kick. You've got to play through some of those things, look at the film and realize we could have taken that wouldn't have made him kicking the ball be a factor for them."
• Winovich's injury: "I have a soft spot for defensive linemen. I'm tired of watching defensive guys get sent out of the game because they hit a quarterback high, or they're coming off a block and they rolled into a quarterback's legs and that's a penalty. But we do nothing — NOTHING — to protect defensive linemen or linebackers in the box.
"When are we ever going to see there be an equal value placed on that. Oh, it's the same deal. If you hurt a defensive end, you should be in trouble, just like if you hurt a wide receiver … but no, the wide receiver scores touchdowns, so we don't care about the defensive ends.
"I know I'm complaining from a place of bias, because I played defensive line, but at the same rate, there are too many times when you see guys get high-lowed, or something that would classify as dirty, and nothing happens. No repercussions. Just put your second guy in. To me, that's frustrating, and something not just the Big Ten but the NCAA as a whole needs to take a look at.
"Are we protecting every player the same way as we're protecting the guys that make us money?"
• Ohio State: "The way Ohio State has played to this point, they have no business beating us in this game, even though it's at their place. They have guys that are four-star, five-star guys, they have talent. If for some reason, the 11 guys on each unit get chemistry, it's going to be a long game.
"I'm excited about what could happen. I'm excited for this team to finish their Revenge Tour. I'm all about their Revenge Tour. That being said, it's going to take every single guy, intensely focusing through every single day, starting today. Film room. What Indiana game? Never heard of it. We've got to play Ohio State.
"Anything that isn't sleeping goes toward Ohio State week and making sure you win this game."
Here is the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/mi...l-podcast-ryan-van-bergen-with-john-borton-12
