Fresh off its 27-17 loss to Washington in Seattle, the Michigan football team hopped on a plane back to the Great Lakes State to first get some sleep and second, regroup during the off week.
On Tuesday night, sixth-year senior safety Quinten Johnson met with reporters to discuss the long flight back from the west coast.
"It was a moment of reflection, and it led into a week of reflection," Johnson said. "And it's all about how we can go about taking that loss, that adversity, and getting better from it. So it wasn't a moment where we all had to sit back and weep or overthink what was going on, but it was just something that we took the idea, we took it all in, and after 24 hours, we flushed it, and we got better from it."
Thirteen days separate the team's second loss of the season and a bounce-back opportunity against the current No. 23 squad in the nation. Michigan will have plenty to work on offensively and defensively during those two weeks.
Johnson, one of the oldest, most experienced players on the roster, was rather blunt with his remarks about how the team will continue forward after losing its second game of the year.
"Bounce back. I mean, are you a fighter or are you not? The only way is forward, so the only way to really go is forward. So at the end of the day, I could give you a lot of 'what if?' scenarios, or how you respond to this and that. You check who you are as a person. You look in the mirror and see what can you do to get better."
Last season, Michigan obviously never found itself in a situation like the 2024 team is in now. The Wolverines didn't lose a game last season and never had to rebound from a tough loss.
On Tuesday, Johnson said this year is very similar to last season, but the team is simply facing more adversity this go-around as compared to last year. The safety was quick to point out that all of the team's goals are still within reach.
"The only difference is this year there's more adversity," Johnson said. "I mean, all our goals are still in front of us, and we gotta make sure we don't lose sight of that. At the end of the day, everything we want is still attainable, and adversity is something that, as a man, you shouldn't crave, but when it happens, how you respond to it is gonna define you. So we don't run from it, and we appreciate it. We have an opportunity to show the world what we can do."
Statistically, Michigan ranks near the bottom of the country in just about every passing defense statistic. The Wolverines rank 114th in passing yards per game, 133rd in passing yards per completion and 107th in total first downs allowed.
Johnson admitted to the defensive struggles, and with lethal offenses in Oregon and Ohio State still on the schedule, the team will need to get things cleaned up quickly.
"It's too many explosives. That's something that we've been focusing all week on, trying to address, trying to limit, but it starts from the top up. And it's a lot of jobs, especially as the older guys in the secondary, to address and fix."
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