On whether the win was as dominant on film as it looked at the stadium

Our guys, every position, offense, defense, special teams just played great. We were great up front, the blocking on offense, the quarterback, the whole passing game was elite, elite. Quarterback was making throws that people would refer to throws being made on Sunday. I was seeing throws that weren't being made on Sunday, they were that good. The backs continue to add so much, bring so much. Defensively, excellent. Special teams, excellent. Tight ends, the best tight ends in the country as well. Roman Wilson continues to make plays and the big plays. Going into it, you know Michigan State, first time being there at night, toughest environment to play in as there is. I thought it would be a great test for us to see where we stood as a road team. I thought we'd know a lot more about our team coming out of that. Our guys acquitted themselves great and that bodes well for us with the big road games down the road.

On whether there's anything the team is doing to prepare for night games

There's a window we practice in because that's the window that deconflicts the classes the most. That's what we do. Just get good at football. The guys continue to practice and train, a one-track mind about getting prepared to play that game on Saturday.

On how to help J.J. McCarthy improve when he's playing at an elite level

Been saying what I've been saying about him. Everybody else in the country seems to be saying the same thing, I think he's number one in the Heisman odds right now. The pro scouts are all recognizing he's the number one guy. Where our team is at, we're going to do what we think is best for our team this week. Going to be more recovery. The kitchen sink when it comes to recovery for our team. For the younger guys, that's for the guys that have been playing, the younger guys, continue to fully practice and get them ready. Get the, ready before they need to be ready because the depth is very strong right now. More is more.

On the pressure of being a Heisman candidate

He doesn't care about it. It's about playing for his teammates and he's so focused. His level of being locked in and focused, the study of the film. The grasp of the offense just keeps increasing. Week by week it's a level of locked-in that you rarely see, you see it some of the real great ones. I also say it's a real combination of loose and focused at the same time. You see the guys that go to the free throw line and they're so focused and tight when they go to shoot the shot the ball doesn't even get to the rim. Some are so loose that their minds are on three other different things and they're just as ineffective. It really needs to be a loose an focus at the same time. I see that with J.J., so locked in. At the same time. Rarely seen somebody enjoying playing the game like he does. He loves it. His style reflects that. Have total trust in him with the ball and the decisions that he makes. To draw a comparison, it would be the locked in-ness of Peyton but the fun of Jim McMahon who I had a chance to play with. It's that loose and focused, that's the two images that come to my mind.

On A.J. Barner and Colston Loveland

They're feeling it. They're feeling it, too. They know J.J.'s got the ability to put the ball into the tight window and he did that with A.J. A.J., he's shown J.J. just get the ball to me, man. Doesn't matter if I'm going to take a hit afterward, I'm going to make that catch for you. Just manly man stuff. Colston, people can't cover him. Same with Roman. Two more catches, 50-some yards, a TD. Just always making plays. The two backs. This is a good football team. I think everybody sees that. That's what it is. People want to say what they want to say right now, I just see our guys to the mindset, it's a one-track mind on getting better at football and getting ready for these games.

On making sure the defense has a one-track mindset

Just like asking me what I'm gonna do to coach J.J. McCarthy to get better, I'm not going to overcoach them. I'm going to let J.J. do J.J. Same with the team, you see the team, I'm going to let them do them. They're doing it better than I could ask them to do it. I would go as far as to say, I'm just going to let them do them. They're working on stuff, we're coaching, we're preparing them. But these guys, their mindset is just dialed in.

On Semaj Morgan

I talked about this a few weeks ago. Game seven, it's like, he's just really hitting his stride. He's playing tough, he's catching the football, freshman of the week again on offense. Really pleased with his growth. The other thing, too, you watch those other guys play, midway through the quarter, we were putting the reserves in. Isn't it cool the way our players, they come off the bench, they're so excited for their teammates' success and their growth. It's good. Nothing better for morale than guys getting in there and getting their opportunity to contribute.

On the strength of the defense

Again, it would be like talking about the offense. I think we're really strong up front. Mason Graham, another great game. Tackle, TFL, quarterback hit, QB pressure. Ken Grant, he had a PBU, a tackle, one tackle but dominant in his snaps. Kris Jenkins, 24 snaps, bit of a bad ankle. Another thing he was working through and he played great. Junior Colson, game ball. Mike Barrett, dominate. The edge guys are dominant, another great game by Braiden McGregor. Derrick Moore, Josaiah Stewart. Guys are playing dominant in the secondary, too. Getting our hands on balls, we're getting tips, getting interceptions. Coverage is tight. What do I see as the strength of the defense? Just how they play as 11, how hard they play during the game. That's what's really good.

On who came up with the idea of a rally group

Mike Elston came up with that and it's something that Mike implements. It's the idea of getting the fresh guys in. Been very effective.

On Braiden McGregor's impact on the defense

It's been, you know, manly man. He's playing so good in every phase. Someone like Aidan Hutchinson. Just kept coming and coming and getting better and better. That's what I see, two guys who have similar athletic traits, physical traits. Really special. I was really proud of Braiden, too. The whole team with the way they handled their poise. There were a lot of cheap shots that were happening in the game. The hit that Braiden took, just the way he kept his poise, I think that's a great representative for all defensive players on our team. Alex Orji, the cheap shot he got. It's the way they kept their poise and discipline. Super proud and I think there's two tremendous examples from the game.

On whether he's considered getting a tattoo

I have no ink. I consider it. If we go undefeated, I'm going to get a 15-0 tattoo. Probably on the shoulder. With a Block M over it, absolutely. I haven't configured the art yet. If that happens, I will do it.

On improvement week

It's what we always do. It's what we do every single week. We're coaching every guy. Every guy, their individual career, you want to coach them all. This is a week that lets you concentrate more on each individual guy and that's what we're going to be doing. What's the goal, get better. Be better today than we were yesterday, better tomorrow than today.

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