Michigan defenders discuss challenges of playing 'physical' and creative Texas offense

The Michigan Wolverines will play one of the biggest games of the college football season on Saturday afternoon (12 p.m., FOX) when the Texas Longhorns come to town for a top-10 matchup in Ann Arbor.

The 10th-ranked Wolverines fell a spot in this week’s AP Poll after a 30-10 win over Fresno State, while Texas moved up a spot to No. 3 following a 52-0 blanking of Colorado State. Vegas has not been kind to Michigan this week with a 3-point summer point spread ballooning to 7.5 or 8 points, depending on the sportsbook.

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U-M is in a unique spot where it is out to defend its national title against a playoff team from last season at home but finds itself as a decent-sized underdog.

“Here at Michigan, we strive and we live for moments like these,” junior linebacker Ernest Hausmann said on Tuesday. “Having a top-10 opponent coming to our house, the Big House. We play our best in moments like these, so we’re excited.”

Junior EDGE Derrick Moore weighed in: “I feel like we’re more locked in going into this game. The week just started, so I feel like we really locked in and we just like mentally ready for this game.”

No performance is perfect, and while the defense was the closest thing to it in last week’s opener over Fresno State, Michigan knows it has to play with a different level of physicality this week against the Longhorns.

“Playing more physical, playing more dominant, going into this game,” Moore said of the keys this week. “Texas, they got a really good offensive line. So we have to come out and match that physicality and get to the quarterback. They have a good experienced quarterback back there. So we got to make kind of make just make him a little uncomfortable.”

The Longhorns on the offensive line are headlined by offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who is considered a top NFL Draft prospect. The group as a whole plays a unified brand of football, so disruption is the key for a Michigan defensive line looking to wreck the game.

“They play together and he’s physical,” Moore said. “Also going into this game, as an EDGE rusher, they got one of the best offensive tackles in the game and just watching film on him, he’s a good player. He’d good with his feet, big body, strong with his hands and he also can play kind of mind games with his eyes and things like that.

“It fires me and the rest of the edges up going into this game. Going to get some elite competition and it’s also a time to make an impact on your life.”

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is known for an offense that will throw the kitchen sink at you. Michigan has a lot to prepare for from motions and shifts and an experienced maestro of the offense in quarterback Quinn Ewers. It will be a challenge for a talented and aggressive defense that is going to be the biggest key to victory on Saturday.

“I think they do a really good job of just presenting different motions, a lot of shifts, ust to make sure your eyes see a different picture,” Hausmann said. “They do a really good job of making sure that they get the ball to their skill players with the scheme or just making sure that they get the ball out really fast. They do a good job of just presenting different problems for defenses.

“But we’re going to make sure that we take our preparation seriously this week, like we do every single week.”

To the guys in the building, it isn’t a surprise that Michigan is being overlooked this week, especially after an opener that did not inspire a ton of confidence among the fanbase or nationwide. But that’s fine to the guys in the building, who are used to being considered underdogs despite a 41-3 record over the last 3-plus years.

“It’s always been Michigan vs. Everybody,” Hausmann said. “It’s always been a saying here. We know that. We’re just worried about ourselves. Iif we do what we gotta do, execute the game plan, we’re gonna be in a good position to win the game.

“We trust our preparation that we always do each other. We prepare every single game like it’s a national championship game. No matter what your rating is, no matter what your rank is, we just look at every opponent the way, same way.”