Opening Statement
Start off with a huge shout out to Tracey Fuchs and Women's Field Hockey under the final four. Excited that their semi-final contest will be in Ann Arbor. Excited for her and her team, and excited for our opportunity ahead in Ann Arbor as well. It's been exciting to watch Tracey and her team throughout this season, and hopeful that this weekend will be a great weekend for the Cats all around. So with that, I had an opportunity to get back to work this morning with our team, review the Ohio State film. I think a lot of learning opportunities from the game, both positive and constructively in terms of how we need to move forward. Incredible opportunity in front of us in Ann Arbor against a very good Michigan team, very talented, a team that is certainly line of scrimmage based. Gonna look to establish a run game, stay committed to a run game, very talented up front. Defensive coordinator with a ton of NFL experience, very multiple, very well thought out, very much pressure oriented. Saw a lot of looks from Ohio State, pressured much more than they had shown in the past leading into our game, would anticipate a heavy dose of pressure from Michigan's defense this week, but it's an exciting challenge for this football team, a football team that we feel is improving in some areas. Certainly have a lot of work to do, we have two more guaranteed opportunities, and excited to go on the road and put ourselves in a position to win a football game and work towards bowl eligibility.
On Michigan being a good fourth down team
Yeah, no, that's a great point. I could be slightly off on this, but I think third down-wise against Ohio State, we were 4-10, which is, would like to be better there, but you feel like you're in a solid place with that percentage, but with the two fourth down conversions, all of a sudden, they're 6-10, and that plays a critical role in the game. Michigan has proven to be very effective on fourth down. I think that's a credit to their run game and staying ahead of the chains. They pick up a big fourth down against Minnesota on minus territory. It starts with getting in advantageous third down situations, third and long situations where you feel like you're forcing them to be one dimensional, and then being prepared on fourth down to convert defensively. One thing we talk about, as much as we talk about takeaways and how critical that is, a fourth down stop is as good as a takeaway, and something that we gotta celebrate, but we're gonna need to be better in that area this week.
On Michigan's low passing volume
Yeah, I mean, if Tim McGargle was sitting up here with me, I mean, he would tell you priority number one for us defensively in the Big Ten is to stop the run. And that will certainly get tested this week against Michigan. Again, you always have to evaluate what you're potentially giving up or exposing yourself to in that commitment to stop in the run game. Michigan, very talented tight end that can create some matchup issues. Again, you go back and look at some of the Minnesota game and some of the plays that Michigan was able to hit in the passing game. It's against some loaded boxes, so you just have to continue to make sure that you have balance in your structure of your plan. But what I can say with absolute conviction, if we don't effectively stop the run against Michigan, it's not gonna be the outcome we're looking for.
On what AJ Henning has brought to Northwestern and his homecoming
Yeah, as a player, the production speaks for itself. I think the thing that really stands out to me about AJ is the way that it's not easy to transition as a transfer, especially at a place like Northwestern. That's incredible and awesome, but also unique in terms of just some of the rigor that exists with the academics here. I think AJ did a great job of building credibility first and doing that through his work ethic and who he is as a teammate. That credibility has just continued to blossom and grow in his time here. And you really find out about a person when adversity hits. And I think some of the things that we experienced in our passing game early on during the year with transitioning at the quarterback position, some inexperienced quarterback play. Not that Jack wasn't growing, but some early starts for him in his career. And AJ's commitment to this team and his work ethic, his consistency and availability in practice and for games is something that just really stands out. Gets dinged up against Wisconsin, he's back at practice on Tuesday. I think AJ's only missed one practice this entire year, fall camp throughout the entire season. Like the workload that's on that guy, that's incredibly impressive. But it just speaks to his competitiveness, his commitment to this team. And to see him continue to have opportunities to impact games on Saturdays for us is something that we're all really excited about. And something that's a driving force for me personally and our program as a whole is, I know a record isn't where we want it to be right now. But we wanna extend the opportunity for this group to continue on this season. We got 12 days left in the regular season with this group. Two guaranteed opportunities with a really special group of young men. Let's go battle our butts off and extend that opportunity. And for guys like AJ Henning as a senior, and Coco, and Bryce, and Xander. I mean, the list just goes on and on. What greater motivation than finding a way to get this group to a bowl game.
On what the George Jewett trophy means to NW
It's a huge deal. First and foremost, a shout out to Liam Kennedy, who actually kind of spurred this concept and trophy on. I think it represents so much of what makes college football so special. In terms of, you can bring together a group of young men from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different races, ethnicities, and all working towards a common goal. And for us to have an opportunity to go into Michigan, to go into Ann Arbor, to win a game for this football team. But also to bring that trophy to Edmondston for the first time would be something that would be an incredible feat to celebrate.
On Michigan's struggles in the punt return game
Yeah, it will be critical. I mean, as we've seen, when this team's found success and found wins, it's been all three phases that have contributed to that. Special teams is huge. Even going back to Ohio State, we did win the field position battle, which is somewhat surprising considering our one punt that resulted in Ohio State getting the ball at the one yard line. But our kickoff team did a really good job. We had a very detailed plan on our kickoff return in terms of how we wanted to approach that against Ohio State. It'll take another really detailed plan of finding our selective areas where we really want to be aggressive, but this will be a game that field position certainly factors in for sure.
On preparing the team to play in Michigan Stadium
Yeah, I think it's an exciting opportunity for our team. That's what's really neat about the Big Ten, is these incredible venues that you have an opportunity to play in. So excited for what's ahead in 2026 for the Cats. In terms of the new Ryan Field, I mean, add the new Ryan Field to the list of, the new Ryan Field's gonna be the best stadium in all of college football. Excited for us opponents to be talking about our venue. But the big house is gonna have an impact on our ability to operate offensively on special teams. The way that we prepare, no different than the way that we prepare for all our road games. But we gotta understand that that crowd noise will play a factor. And that'll certainly be a part of our plan all week long, in terms of pumping that crowd noise into our practices. And then our guys just gotta do a great job of really eliminating interference. Whether it's the tunnel situation at Michigan, whether it be the crowd noise, whatever that looks like. I'm confident that our group will handle that the right way and focus on what really matters. And that's the 60 minutes of football we gotta go play.
On dealing with Michigan's defensive line and the importance of chemistry
Absolutely essential. And as a football team this past Saturday, we were certainly far from perfect. And to be honest with you, you don't need to be perfect. You just need to be at your best. And I saw a group of guys up front against Ohio State that managed a lot of different looks relatively well. Good communication on the sideline. And guys that were straining in the run game. And I know the run stats that you look at as sheet postgame is not where we want it to be. If you look at design called runs against Ohio State, I think we were averaging 3.8 yards per carry, which is an indication that this group has it within them to establish a run game. If you can do that against an operation like Ohio State, Michigan will present a lot of the same issues in terms of their personnel and their multiple looks. But we're gonna have to find a way to have a balanced attack against a team like this, especially on the road.
On Michigan's two-QB system
At the end of the day, you go back and look at the Minnesota game. I mean, both quarterbacks are certainly capable of throwing the football. It's just understanding tendency and how they're utilizing each. But we're gonna have to do a good job of making sure that we have a balanced plan that can certainly account for drop back pass, some of the access throws that they like to throw to the field, and then being sound against quarterback running.
On leading his team into the Big House
Yeah, no, in a lot of ways, I know I've used this word before, in a lot of ways, it's surreal. You're grateful, beyond grateful for the opportunity that myself, our family, the staff has. There's a lot of guys on this staff, a lot of people on this staff that have dreamed of working in the Big Ten throughout their entire career. So I don't think that's something that gets lost on this group. But the thing that you quickly realize, whether it's coaching in the Fargo Dome, or coaching at Winona State, or Culver Stockton College, or coaching a national championship game, or coaching in the Big Ten. And going into Kinnick, or getting an opportunity to do it at Wrigley Field is, you take your opportunities pre-game to soak that in. But that first ball goes up, and you're into the game. I mean, I know it sounds silly to say this, but it's all the same. And I think it's finding those moments to be grateful for the opportunity and soak it in. You never should take it for granted, while also being really focused on the task at hand when it's time to go coach a game and put your guys in good situations.
On winning the turnover battle versus Michigan
It's gonna be huge. It's gonna be huge. I mean, if you look at these two teams, as Northwestern and Michigan matches up, it's most likely gonna be a limited possession football game, so every possession is so critical. Back to your previous question, fourth down stops will be critical. We gotta do a better job of creating takeaways as a football team right now. And then any turnover offensively or on special teams just can't happen. And there's some things in terms of our process and what we're actually putting on film that we can address in terms of our ball security, which I'm excited to get fixed this week.
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