Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh appeared on Jon Jansen's Inside Michigan Football radio show this evening to recap his club's loss to Michigan State and what went wrong, while also addressing a few positive aspects.
Harbaugh talked about the mindset of his team moving forward, while also discussing the play of redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton, U-M's defense as a whole and more.
Harbaugh's message to the team:
“It was a tough loss, a gut-wrenching loss. We have to learn from it and make something good come from it. We’ll strive to do that. You have to get on to the next opponent, who’s very good, just like you would if it were a win. You get back in the mindset of a game on the horizon.”
What he learned about the team:
“I still love this team. I’m in their corner — win, lose or draw. We’re battling. That’s all you can do. The effort was great — I thought our players were in a tight game, but as a team, we couldn’t find a way. There’s a lot to be gleaned from it. Our guys are talented and work extremely hard, but that didn’t pay off in a win. For them and all of us, we want to make darned sure that doesn’t happen again.”
On why so many of Michigan's offensive drives stalled:
“We moved the ball and had 28 first downs, which is a lot. There were times where we got in second-and-long situations, and we weren’t able to pick up the next set of downs. There were too many of those to overcome and we stalled on their side of the 50 a couple times. There wasn’t enough points generated per drive to get the lead.”
Will it be the same starting offensive line at Indiana?
“I thought they played good. I really did. It’s a young, physical, smart offensive line. As far as who’s in and who’s playing, that will depend on the most healthy guys this week.”
On Joe Milton's performance:
“Always looking for that [explosive plays downfield]. I thought Joe played well. He played winning football. There’s definitely things he could’ve done a little better, but for the most part he played well. He made plays and made throws, and had some good runs. It was his second start and I thought it was a good one, and something to build off of.”
What is the status of the injured players — Cam McGrone, Jalen Mayfield and Michael Barrett?
“I don’t know that any of the guys you mentioned would be able to practice today. We should know more about their game availability mid-week.”
On Adam Shibley's performance, who filled in when McGrone departed:
“He played really well. Adam had a heck of a ball game. I was really proud of the way he played. He was real active inside the box and on the perimeter. He tackled well and did an outstanding job.”
Why wasn't Michigan able to put more pressure on Rocky Lombardi?
“There’s no one to pin this game on and say 'You didn’t have a good game and that was the reason we lost.' So many guys played with tremendous effort and played well. There were things to build on and improve on. The d-line played extremely active and hard — [junior defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson, [senior defensive end] Kwity Paye, [fifth-year senior defensive tackle] Carlo Kemp, [redshirt junior defensive tackle] Donovan Jeter made some big stops and tackles, and so did [sophomore defensive tackle] Chris Hinton.
"There was good play in there. They were getting the ball off fast and we never got a sack but we got to the quarterback a dozen times, but just after he’d thrown the ball. Those things work in conjunction — the coverage unit needs pressure on the QB to hurry the throw, and the d-line needs coverage to hold up long enough to get to the QB. Combined with the fact Lombardi was getting the ball out fast and quick was why they were successful.”
On the play of the cornerbacks, and potentially giving them more support:
"All those things will be looked at. A big factor was a couple penalties early — PI and a holding. It could’ve been called technical — if they are, you’d like to see them go both ways if that’s how it’s going to be called. It made our corners more tentative and you saw [redshirt sophomore] Gemon [Green] really respond and finish the game pretty darned good.
"[Redshirt sophomore] Vince [Gray] is arguably our best corner, is our best corner. He’ll bounce back as well; he took a shot on the sideline. We were worried about that. I expect him to bounce back and compete. You have to have a short memory as a corner, and I believe we’ll get that done this week.”
Previewing Indiana...
“[IU is] even better, more talented [than usual]. They’re atop of the Big Ten standings right now. It’ll be a tough ball game, as it always is. They’re talented defensively and are multiplistic in their schemes. Their QB is playing well and is hot. Their receivers are making catches and getting open, and they have fine running backs. Their o-line has been physical as well. I’m not surprised how well they’ve started off the season here in 2020.
“[Head coach Tom Allen] does a tremendous job. I have a lot of respect for Tom. His teams are always ready to play and are always good. He’s one of the coaches I respect the most in the conference.”
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