Michigan is ready to move on from its road loss to Penn State over the weekend and focus on Rutgers.
That’s the message from fifth-year senior running back Ty Isaac, who says the team’s mindset hasn’t changed.
“I don’t think that changes just because you lose a game,” Isaac said. “I think it’s most of the people outside of this building that are panicking and getting really worried. We’re here every day, we know what it takes to win games. We’ve won games. We had a setback on Saturday, and we’re going to come back and play tough against Rutgers.”
Michigan, now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, is out of the AP Top 25, is out of the playoff picture and is likely out of the conference title picture.
“The team protects the team,” Isaac said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, we are all in this together, so it doesn’t matter if I’m a fifth-year or if I’m a true freshman playing, we’re all invested the same in this season.”
He said that college football is unpredictable and that any team can lose each week to anyone, so the team isn’t counting themselves out yet.
The Wolverines are aware that this week’s game against Rutgers, which is coming off back-to-back wins after beating Purdue, has become a must-win game.
“What is there to say? We lost the game and we have to come back and win,” Isaac said. “If you have to remind somebody of that, then it’s a way bigger problem.”
Isaac says he doesn’t give much thought to the outside criticism from fans and other people.
“I really don’t pay attention to it because if you’re not in here, your opinion doesn’t really matter, good or bad,” Isaac said.
Against Penn State, he rushed six times for 36 yards and Michigan’s second touchdown in the second quarter.
He noted that a season is never easy and there are always going adversity in some form. He trusts the guys around him to stay focused.
Of course, fifth-year senior quarterback John O’Korn and the other quarterbacks are leaders in that regard. Isaac said O’Korn is always the same in the huddle — which he likes.
“It doesn’t really matter what happens, they don’t come into the huddle with their tail tucked between their legs,” Isaac said. “They stay confident the whole time. Was it the most confident? To me, it was the same as always, which is he has a lot of confidence, which is what we want out of our quarterbacks. It makes it easier on us, because when you have your leader putting that out for us to see, it makes it a lot easier to play for them.”
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