... and more. He talked about...
• The Tour: "It's a great position to be in, to come into November and not sitting around wondering, okay, if this scenario happens, if this team loses … we are completely in control. That's the position you want to be in, especially opening with that loss at Notre Dame. We weren't sure where we were going.
"This is exactly where we want to be. Everything we had, goal-wise, pre-season, is attainable, and within reach. It's in the next four weeks. Our opponent, Penn State, is obviously a quality opponent coming in here, and it's part of the Revenge Tour.
"I have bought in and drank the Kool Aid. I'm a fan of it. It's a point to rally behind. It shows some leadership among the team. It's also a good motivator, because your season is only going to be as good as your Revenge Tour. And the Revenge Tour includes Penn State.
"I know the team would take it hard if they don't end up taking this game. I don't think you have to worry about looking ahead to the next opponent or any of that stuff. The season gets a little bit smaller now, with three weeks remaining. There's plenty of motivation and fuel on the fire for this Michigan-Penn State match-up."
• A match-up to watch: "I think that's the most interesting match-up and see how it develops — Penn State's passing attack versus our pass defense. Our pass defense has done a great job to this point of making decent quarterbacks look pretty foolish. It will be interesting to see if the trend remains, as we get into Trace McSorley and Penn State.
"I do think McSorley is a step above [Wisconsin's Alex] Horibrook, a step above [Michigan State's Brian] Lewerke. With that being said, I don't think he's seen a Michigan pass defense yet this year. It will be interesting to see what happens.
"The other thing that will be interesting to watch and see is how much he can do with his feet. We got hurt early with the Notre Dame game, allowing [Notre Dame quarterback Brandon] Wimbush to escape or extend plays with his feet. We did a better job of containing Lewerke. Now, they say he's hurt, but I'd say that, too, after how they played on offense.
"There's more left to be seen on how we may handle someone who will look to scramble as much as McSorley. But I've got nothing but confidence on how we play them defensively. I'm sure we've got pressures dialed up."
• The home stretch and potential for a breakthrough year: "It seems like it's so short of a time. We're four weeks away. But there's so much that can happen between now and then. It's got to be day-by-day, and there's nothing that can happen besides tomorrow.
"Take care of the Penn State game, because that's the only time you're going to get the opportunity to do it. Don't worry about what's going on.
"Ohio State — and obviously we're getting ahead and not talking about Indiana and Rutgers, and I think Indiana is a pretty big trap game for us — we don't know where they're at, chemistry-wise. They took the loss to Purdue, and they don't have much challenge left on their schedule. I know they play Michigan State, so that will be an interesting game to see and might give us more information on them.
"We don't know what kind of team they're going to be, and it really doesn't matter. We've got to focus on what Michigan is doing well, what we need to improve on, and keep becoming a better team. We've just continued to try and improve, since the first quarter of the Notre Dame game. I still stick to the fact that that was the best thing that could have happened to us, to lose that game initially.
"Without that loss, who knows what kind of motivation we would have carried into the rest of the season? I'm excited about [finishing well], and is you ask me about odds, I'd put the odds in our favor. But there's so much that can happen between now and then, with injuries and games that have to be won.
"Win the Penn State game, and then it's three weeks. The closer we get, the more in control we'll feel."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/mi...ll-podcast-ryan-van-bergen-with-john-borton-7
• The Tour: "It's a great position to be in, to come into November and not sitting around wondering, okay, if this scenario happens, if this team loses … we are completely in control. That's the position you want to be in, especially opening with that loss at Notre Dame. We weren't sure where we were going.
"This is exactly where we want to be. Everything we had, goal-wise, pre-season, is attainable, and within reach. It's in the next four weeks. Our opponent, Penn State, is obviously a quality opponent coming in here, and it's part of the Revenge Tour.
"I have bought in and drank the Kool Aid. I'm a fan of it. It's a point to rally behind. It shows some leadership among the team. It's also a good motivator, because your season is only going to be as good as your Revenge Tour. And the Revenge Tour includes Penn State.
"I know the team would take it hard if they don't end up taking this game. I don't think you have to worry about looking ahead to the next opponent or any of that stuff. The season gets a little bit smaller now, with three weeks remaining. There's plenty of motivation and fuel on the fire for this Michigan-Penn State match-up."
• A match-up to watch: "I think that's the most interesting match-up and see how it develops — Penn State's passing attack versus our pass defense. Our pass defense has done a great job to this point of making decent quarterbacks look pretty foolish. It will be interesting to see if the trend remains, as we get into Trace McSorley and Penn State.
"I do think McSorley is a step above [Wisconsin's Alex] Horibrook, a step above [Michigan State's Brian] Lewerke. With that being said, I don't think he's seen a Michigan pass defense yet this year. It will be interesting to see what happens.
"The other thing that will be interesting to watch and see is how much he can do with his feet. We got hurt early with the Notre Dame game, allowing [Notre Dame quarterback Brandon] Wimbush to escape or extend plays with his feet. We did a better job of containing Lewerke. Now, they say he's hurt, but I'd say that, too, after how they played on offense.
"There's more left to be seen on how we may handle someone who will look to scramble as much as McSorley. But I've got nothing but confidence on how we play them defensively. I'm sure we've got pressures dialed up."
• The home stretch and potential for a breakthrough year: "It seems like it's so short of a time. We're four weeks away. But there's so much that can happen between now and then. It's got to be day-by-day, and there's nothing that can happen besides tomorrow.
"Take care of the Penn State game, because that's the only time you're going to get the opportunity to do it. Don't worry about what's going on.
"Ohio State — and obviously we're getting ahead and not talking about Indiana and Rutgers, and I think Indiana is a pretty big trap game for us — we don't know where they're at, chemistry-wise. They took the loss to Purdue, and they don't have much challenge left on their schedule. I know they play Michigan State, so that will be an interesting game to see and might give us more information on them.
"We don't know what kind of team they're going to be, and it really doesn't matter. We've got to focus on what Michigan is doing well, what we need to improve on, and keep becoming a better team. We've just continued to try and improve, since the first quarter of the Notre Dame game. I still stick to the fact that that was the best thing that could have happened to us, to lose that game initially.
"Without that loss, who knows what kind of motivation we would have carried into the rest of the season? I'm excited about [finishing well], and is you ask me about odds, I'd put the odds in our favor. But there's so much that can happen between now and then, with injuries and games that have to be won.
"Win the Penn State game, and then it's three weeks. The closer we get, the more in control we'll feel."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/news/mi...ll-podcast-ryan-van-bergen-with-john-borton-7
