Michigan football redshirt junior linebacker (in his fifth year) Josh Ross is 2-2 against divisional rival Michigan State, but he's only looking ahead. With a sole focus centered around preparing for this year's game between his sixth-ranked Wolverines and the eighth-ranked Spartans, Ross and Co. aren't thinking much about the Maize and Blue's 27-24 loss in the series.

"Honestly, last year is over, and this is a new year and it’s new blood and it’s fresh air," Ross said. "We’re just ready to go out there and compete, have a great week of preparation and go get it this weekend."

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Ross and the Wolverines are faced with the challenge of balancing preparing like they have to this point, leading to a 7-0 record, and elevating their level of focus and energy because of how big the game is.

"When you change how you prepare during the season, that’s a problem," Michigan's leading tackler explained. "We’re preparing the right way every week. This week, it definitely is higher stakes — we’re going against an in-state rival — but we’re going to just attack it the same way and elevate, for sure.

"But at the end of the day, it’s about us having a great week of preparation and attacking it the right way, like we have been doing every single week of the season."

A Southfield, Mich., native who grew up in a Maize and Blue household and is the brother of former Michigan linebacker James Ross III, who played at U-M from 2012-15 and is now the linebackers coach at Hope College, Ross knows exactly what the series between the two in-state foes is all about.

"It means everything," Ross said, adding that the stakes are higher than some other games. "Going out there, playing Michigan State, playing our in-state rival, it means a lot. We’ve got to have a great week of preparation and attack it the right way to have a great game.

"It’s definitely a physical, gritty game. It’s important for us guys in state, me and [junior defensive end Aidan [Hutchinson], specifically — guys that are captains, guys that are leaders, guys that are from the state — to emphasize this rivalry [to the younger players]. But it’s about doing our jobs, executing, preparing the right way so we can have a great game this weekend."

The Wolverines have won two road games this season — at Wisconsin and at Nebraska — and have fed off the energy of the opposing crowd both times in an attempt to "turn their music into our music." They'll adopt the same mentality heading into this game in a smaller stadium but one that will be charged up nonetheless.

"The energy will definitely be high, but at the end of the day, we want to make it our own for our energy and our confidence and everything we’ve got going on," Ross said. "The energy will be high, but it just comes down to doing our job and playing our 1/11th."

Michigan will look to junior running back Kenneth Walker III, the country's second-leading rusher with 997 yards and nine touchdowns.

"It’s definitely important to keep Kenneth Walker contained in this game," Ross said, adding that the key to doing that is simply playing their assignments. "He’s a guy that can make big plays and make you pay if you’re not in the right spots on defense.

"It’s going to be a goal for us to contain him and stop him, neutralize him. And it’ll be a piece for us."

It'll also be important for the Wolverines to stay disciplined defensively, given Michigan State's long history of running trick plays and success with the flea flicker this season.

"Trickery is always up in the air, especially in big games," Ross said. "But at the end of the day, having great eyes, reading our keys and doing our job — that’s going to get it done."

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