Opening Statement

Good road win up at Michigan State. I like the way we responded when we were down 10-0 in the first quarter. Guys kept their poise, kept playing, no frustration and picked up a couple of turnovers there defensively in the second quarter, which were key. Scored 47 straight points, and really dominated the line of scrimmage up front on defense, seven sacks, 15 tackles for loss. Made some big plays in the punt return game. Blocked the punt. Forced a muff which also led to a touchdown. Had a couple of big returns and also got a deflection at the end of the game on a punt. Offensively, made timely plays. Six of seven touchdowns in the red area. No sacks. And I thought Curtis really played well, and it was good to get a lot of guys involved. So all eyes on Michigan. Really tough opponent. Obviously won the national championship last season. Wasn't much of a game between the two teams last year. And a lot of good players, really stout defense, really good special teams. They run the ball well. Good tight end, running backs. Offensive line functions well. Settled in on a quarterback. He can spin it. And the receivers are more than capable. So we'll have to have a great week of preparation and play our best to have a shot.

On how to evaluate a team that is struggling offensively

I look at them and I see a really good defense, really good special teams. And offensively, they haven't scored points. They're not in the 40s and 50s. But they can run the ball from 11, 12 and 13 personnel. They've got weapons. They've got good backs. They've got good players, and they're a good football team coming in here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and it's part of the reason it's on national TV at 3:30. To meet that challenge, we've got to have a great week of preparation.

On Colston Loveland

Well, you've got to be aware of him, for sure, down the field and on screens, various things, because when you've got size and speed like that, you can create personnel mismatch. So he's an excellent football player. They've got a lot of really good football players.

On Wink Martindale's defense challenging his offensive line

Well, you know, we're still fairly early in our preparation, but, you know, at this point in the season you've seen most of what you're going to see. They do present a lot of looks, and they do a great job. He does a great job. He's an excellent coordinator. He coordinated in the NFL a long time. And when you put the tape on, you see a defense that's very multiple and tries to create problems for offenses and good players that fly around, play hard. It all starts up front with them. They're good inside and good on the edge. And they're an aggressive defense. We'll have a good plan to be balanced on offense and protect the quarterback and free guys up in the pass game and hopefully good in critical situations, and then we've got to go out and execute it.