Michigan Wolverines senior captain, defensive tackle Carlo Kemp joined host Jon Jansen on the In The Trenches podcast this morning. Kemp gave an update on the pulse of the team, how it fought back against PSU and what it needs to do moving forward.

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"The white out at night at Penn State is definitely a game that you do remember. Two years ago, that was my first experience with it. Same thing entering it — hostile environment, everybody’s in white, they're loud, they're rowdy, they're going and they're rooting for their team and rooting for a good game.

"It was nice having that experience two years ago to know what I was going to expect. And, you walk in there and you’re like, ‘Even though it’s probably the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in, it’s not as loud as it was last time, it’s not as hostile as it was last time,' just because it was my second experience. But, you talk about electric, everyone’s going. That’s a primetime game, national stage and you’re walking into an environment like that and we’re the team in all white and they’re in a white out. It’s a fun experience, that’s for sure.

"We go into the half 21-7 and after a great drive by the offense, we stopped them on defense and we had a chance to kick a field goal and go in for a touchdown late right before halftime. We’re in the locker room and it’s 14 points and they’re getting the ball back, so there’s no one thinking, ‘Are they gonna get 21 and score again?’ No one was thinking that.

"We’re in the locker room, we go over the plays that hurt us. We’re like, ‘Stop these plays, stop these explosive plays, we’re getting the ball back to our offense.’ It was a sense that we’re coming and we’re not going to go down and we’re not going to lay down like this.

"This isn’t what happened two years ago and we came out there, we were motivated. Once the momentum started shifting, that’s when you started to take over, you started to believe it. Sometimes, you come down to the end and it’s just how the game ends and doesn’t necessarily go your way, but there’s a lot you can learn and take from it."

"Of course, emotions are high and of course we want the win. When you don’t get it, you look at all the positives in this and you remind people that anytime you lose a game, especially in football, you only get 12 of them.

"Every [game] is so crucial, so when you lose, you’re like, ‘Alright, is our season done? Is it over? What do we play for?’ It was getting people back in that mindset where it’s like, ‘Guys, look at what we accomplished, what we’re able to do down 21-0, get stops after stops, only give up one touchdown in the second half, give as many opportunities as we possibly could,' and we got to carry that forward.

"This is the game that is crucial because it’s, ‘Are we building off of what we did previously,' or are we going to be like, ‘Well, we have our second loss, what are we kind of doing right now?’ And, that wasn’t the feel in the locker room. It was, ‘Let’s build off of this, let’s come back starting today, watch tape, watch the game, get ready for Notre Dame.' Because, we’re back, national stage, 7:30 at the Big House."

"Ronnie Bell is that fire and that drive. He wears his emotions and you can see it in his play. Every play, ball not coming to him, ball coming to him. Anytime he catches the ball, he’s looking to do something with it. He catches the ball, he’s upfield automatically, making two guys miss, getting extra yards, fighting for yards.

"The best thing about him is when he’s not getting the ball, he’s blocking for someone, he’s trying to make other people successful. He’s going stuff that doesn’t show up on stat sheets. You don’t see blocks on stat sheets.

"He comes in our defensive huddle and he’s high-fiving us, getting us ready. It’s just little stuff like that. Who knows if it has an impact on the game? That’s not the point. He’s involved.

"For Ronnie, who is so emotionally invested into the game and obviously you go down to the last play and he’s going to feel that. But, that’s not how the game is defined. That wasn’t the last play of the game. He doesn’t catch the ball, but we still had an opportunity to go out and get a stop and force a punt. So, there was still opportunity left in the game and it’s not all on him.

"He’s been a huge reason, not just in this Penn State game, but in all of our games when we’ve started to get things going, when we’ve started to get big chunk plays. When the offense has needed a guy, it’s been Ronnie to get them going. Get the ball in his hands and he’s electric."

"For me personally, that’s really all I really care about. I don’t care about, ‘I got the tackle for loss or I got the sack.’ That doesn’t really do anything for me.

"Football is the ultimate team sport and when I look at Coach Brown and I get the call I’m like, ‘Okay, I have a responsibility to do where maybe I gotta eat two blocks,’ but if I do that, I know Cam’s going to make the play, Glasgow’s going to make the play, Khaleke’s going to make the play. And they’re probably going to make it for a loss. And, that’s more exciting to me than anything because watching them get excited and then I can feed off that because I want to keep doing that."

"You look at it, you’re coming off a game like we just had and everything’s invested and we’re in it right to the end. Those games are always the ones that are going to wear on you the most, especially when it doesn’t turn out your way.

"And, the blessing in all this is, Saturday is coming, it’s Notre Dame, it’s primetime, it’s a night game in the Big House. So, we have the opportunity to go out there and play on a big stage again. And, that’s the best opportunity because now we get to work, come to practice, realize that they’re a top-ten team, and they’re coming here and we have a responsibility to win in the Big House and we’re going to have to work hard and get back to carrying how we were playing in that Penn State game and bring it into this next one."

"I think the identity comes throughout this week of practice and this next game. You’re at the point where it’s like, ‘Where are we gonna be? How are we going to define our season?’

"It’s going to be a job of me, Shea, Josh, Ben and Khaleke to help form that identity this week in practice where this isn’t over, the season is not done. One of the biggest things to do is not look at, ‘Are we going to the Big Ten championship?’ That’s not how you look at this.

"You don’t look at the outcomes and that’s how we prepared when we were down 21-0 to Penn State. Next play. Next drive. Now, it’s next game. Prepare for Notre Dame, let’s take the field on Saturday and we’ll look up at the scoreboard at the end of the game."

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