Michigan Football Defensive End Explains Substitution Woes At MSU
Michigan football fell to the rival Michigan State Spartans 37-33 on Saturday, which has continued to sting into Week 10. A major factor in the defeat was MSU’s offense going up-tempo and ruining the Wolverines’ substitution packages.
That kept defenders out there should not have been while also causing a mad scramble between the sideline and the field. This caused confusion and led to a few Spartan touchdowns in the loss. Even without matching personnel, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald likes to rotate and keep players fresh.
We now have some clarity on what happened on Saturday from a Michigan perspective.
“We were just trying to match personnel,” sophomore defensive end Mike Morris told the media on Monday afternoon. “Coach (Mike Macdonald) loves to (do that). So if they have two tight ends, one tight end, two backs, one back, he always likes to match it. This week, it didn’t work out so well. Usually, we are on and off the field very fast and frequently. We do it at a timely pace. This week, it did not happen. It happened too fast. We were looking for the call and it was just happening way too fast. It did not match up. That’s what happened.”
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Morris made mention of the speed that MSU came at them with, but claims that it did not hold up their efforts on Saturday.
“(MSU’s speed and tempo) wasn’t an issue,” he said. “We were trying to match personnel. They were close to their sideline for people running on and off the field. We were trying to figure out what was happening in the box and just could not make it happen.”
This is bound to happen during a game, so Macdonald preaches to his players to do their best to win the matchup on that snap.
“You just play,” Morris revealed. “Like Coach Mac says, ‘Check, whoop a-word.’ If you don’t get the call, play your man and play your keys and do what you have to do.”
Playing Through Officiating
Another major moment in the loss was when the Michigan defense had a sack-fumble on MSU quarterback Payton Thorne for a touchdown wiped off the board in the second quarter. Morris said his team did not expect to get a friendly whistle on the road, so it did not make a difference.
“It really didn’t matter because going into that game, I knew the refs weren’t going to have our backs,” he said. “Regardless of if we got the touchdown or not, we were going to get the stop. So that was just our mentality.
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“It’s Michigan and Michigan State. We’re going to decide it. It’s going to be left up to us. They are not going to call the ticky-tack stuff. I felt like the knee was up, but it probably wasn’t. When you’re away team at home, it’s going to be favored toward the home team more times than not.”
Michigan Football Turns The Page
Michigan football players have to find a way to turn the page from Saturday’s setback. Morris allowed himself the time to grieve so he could move past it and focus on the next challenge.
“It was a time of getting everything together,” he said. “It’s not going to matter if we’re stuck on Michigan State or not. I was getting it out. I gave myself 48 hours after the game to get it out up until now. It’s out of my system and I’m ready to play Indiana.”
The Wolverines called a players-only meeting for Monday afternoon to get back on track and address their goals for the final four games. Morris expects it to be a simple message.
“I expect the message to be that we are still in it,” he said. “It does not matter if we lost or not. We have been here before. It’s not an issue with us. I’m not really worried about it. I just want everyone on the team to be on the same page.”
Next up for Michigan football is a tilt with the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday night in Ann Arbor at 7:30 p.m. ET.
