In the Trenches 615 - Penn State Preview Transcript
10/15/2026 5:00:00 PM | MGoBlue Podcasts
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Radio Network Scene Setter • 00:00
You know you're ready to get back to it and do what Michigan football does. If you have a strong faith and a strong belief in what we're doing. And I think we all do. I know that we can. I've seen it in practices. We have everything we need. We just have to put it together. We're little things away from huge differences. Stay level headed, keep your head down and work. Nothing's really changing. Goal's still in front of you. Everybody know, you know, this is a big week. We know we need this one and we gotta come back strong. They're a good team. They're very respectable. Kind of similar to us, like really hungry, trying to get that fourth wave. They're going to try and get physical and that's what we want. We want to get physical as well. So it's a great challenge, but we're excited for it. Everybody's got to just do a little bit more, raise your level of play and finish the deal.
Jeff Laurence • 00:41
We're closing in on another Michigan game day. Now let's get you set for Saturday's matchup with our keys to the game edition of in the Trenches, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams the Midwest. Now here's Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 01:01
Michigan looks to get back in the win column this week against Penn State. It'll be their first Big Ten win of the season and here's going to be a few keys that will make that possible. But before we get to the keys, I do want to let you know that artisanal and award winning wines from one hundred percent Leelanau grapes have made Laurentide Winery a Michigan favorite founded by U of M alums Susan and Will Braymer. They're proud to be family owned since twenty ten and grateful to be part of your celebrations, dinners and game day traditions. Visit the tasting room in Lake Leelanau or purchase online at Laurentide winery dot com that's Laurentide winery dot com thank you for raising your wine glass with Laurentide.
Jeff Laurence • 01:44
Offense.
Jon Jansen • 01:56
The number one key on offense is going to win at the line of scrimmage and this is a must. It's non negotiable. You guys know me well enough to know that, hey, so much is won and lost at the line of scrimmage. I'm going to put this on the offensive line. You've got to win in pass protection. Give Bryce Underwood plenty of time. There's going to be a plenty of misdirection with motions. There's Going to be plenty of misdirection by relocating the launch point of the quarterback. But you must protect the quarterback at all costs and it's also running the football. If you want to open things up in the pass game. You run the damn ball, you win at the line of scrimmage, you win at the point of attack. But don't forget about that backside. A lot of these runs, especially if they're going to get get to running more downhill runs, those cutback lanes have to be a viable option. Jordan Marshall, Savion Hiter are very good at being patient in the backfield and then making sure they hit where the hole is and that might actually backside. So if that's the case, you must win not just the point of attack but also backside.
Jon Jansen • 02:44
So that center guard work together to get those combo blocks up to the linebacker. If it's guard tackle, get those combo blocks front, side, backside, you've got to get movement, be violent at the point of attack and it's honest five across the board. You never know where that ball is going to hit. You've got to win those matchups. Whether it's a double team or one on one blocks, you must win at the line of scrimmage. Remove the line of scrimmage, create a new line of scrimmage. Move those big fellas on the other side for Penn State. Move them a yard, move them two yards. It makes that linebacker bump over the top. Even if you don't get a hand on them, even if you don't block linebackers. Now all of a sudden, hey, you allow those running backs to get into the line of scrimmage before they got to make their first cut. You've aut picked up yards and with these two backs, you absolutely know they're going to fall forward, they're going to churn out a couple of extra large yards.
Jon Jansen • 03:36
That is how you win at the line of scrimmage. And like I said, pass blocking, you've got to give the quarterback time to be able to see downfield. Give your, hey, you've got great weapons out there. And Andrew Marsh, JJ Buchanan, Salesi Moa. You could, you've got a lot of different things, ways that you can get the ball downfield. So utilize all of those. But it all starts with running the football and pass protection. Number two, you have to value the football. Coach Whittingham keeps preaching this. Day in, day out, week in, week out, you've got to be able to win the turnover battle. And hey, the defense, they're going to create some turnovers. You must value possession of the football. And as you get closer to the, to the goal line, you cross that fifty, you get into the red zone and things have, don't play tight, but you have to. The awareness of protecting the football has to be at a heightened level.
Jon Jansen • 04:33
The closer you get to scoring, the closer you get the points. Especially with, with Bukowski, you know you've got points on the board. You've got to make sure that you possess the ball at all costs. And number three, this isn't one that you can put a number on. It's not a stat that you could keep, but it's one that you can see, one that you can feel. And it may be the one that determines more football games than, than any other fact. And that is you have to attack with violence. You have to attack the line of scrimmage up front with the offensive line. You have. There's no other way to play the game of football. You've got to be violent up front. You've got to run with violence. And Jordan Marshall, Savion Hiter, Bryson Kuzdzal, they could all be violent backs, but you got to give them a chance to be violent. If you got the ball in your hands on the outside or if you're blocking for a run, play wide receivers, block with violence, attack downfield with violence.
Jon Jansen • 05:28
You have to have that as part of your DNA if you want to be successful in any level of football, but especially at the college football level and especially at the University of Michigan.
Jeff Laurence • 05:41
Defense.
Jon Jansen • 05:42
Number one, is going to be communicate in the front seven. And this is something that, hey, you've done it right. You've got to keep doing it right. I asked the question of Larry Black, defensive tackles coach. I asked the question of Kyle Whittingham. When I hear players talk about being able to play free and being able to have some freedom, it means that, hey, that defensive line, they've got the ability to call slant right, slant left, play straight ahead, whatever they feel they have the advantage of on any given play. So you need to make sure that you continue to communicate that to the linebackers. That is, it sounds simple, but sometimes it gets lost in the weeds.
Jon Jansen • 06:19
You got to make sure you communicate on every single play and use what you've been doing to your advantage against this big offensive line. Yeah, we got a lot of beef up front as well, but you've got to be able to use your speed, your quickness, the penetration that you've created to your advantage. Make sure you communicate that to the linebackers. Linebackers have done a nice job of playing off that defensive line and roaming around and making plays. Number two, in third down situations and in the red zone, identify where the tight ends are every single time. Time that is Rocco Becht, their quarterback. His go to in the red zone. More tight ends have caught touchdown passes than any other position group. Tight ends are converting third downs. Sometimes they're not the dynamic tight ends that we've seen Penn State have before, but they're very effective, they're very efficient and Rocco Becht is looking for them on third downs to simply move the chains.
Jon Jansen • 07:15
They're big targets, they're big, big bodies, they're physical. So you've got to identify where they are on every third down. And anytime you get in the red zone, Rocco Becht likes to use them as weapons. So make sure you identify where they are. Whether it's twelve personnel, eleven personnel, thirteen personnel, sometimes they'll jump into that. You've got to identify where they are and then identify what that means for the coverage of of those plays. Number three, you've got to continue to create turnovers. The couple that you created against Minnesota were outstanding. You've to give the offense short fields, allow them the time, the opportunity to get in rhythm, Find that rhythm in Big Ten play. And it's not just short fields, but give them the ball back as many times as possible, as many bites as the apple as you possibly can to allow this offense to find its footing, to get the rhythm.
Jon Jansen • 08:07
It's there. They just need more opportunity, they need short fields. They need the opportunity to go out there and excel. And honestly, what they did last time in Minnesota, you gave them a turnover inside the red zone, they completed that. They, they turned that into points. Continue to do that, give them short fields, Turn that ball over, you win the turnover battle. Most likely you are going to win the game. And talk to Kyle Whittingham on Monday night, he said, if we win the turnover battle in all these games, we might be undefeated. That is going to be the determining factor moving forward as to the success or lack thereof of this football team
Jeff Laurence • 08:44
Special teams.
Jon Jansen • 08:46
So much of special teams comes down to focus and that is the number one key against Penn State. You've got to focus ball. Anybody that's in the return game, whether it's kick return, punt return, focus.
Jon Jansen • 08:57
The most important thing is possession of the football. If you're not going to fair catch, that ball's not going to go out of the back of the end zone. First of all, catch the damn ball. Make sure you possess the Ball and then get your eyes downfield, identify where the blocking is, what's return that's set up, get in behind your blockers and make something happen. But it's all about focus on the details. Catch and make good decisions. Sometimes the best decision and the focus needs to be on fair catch. You've got to end every one of those opportunities with possession of the football. And number two in terms of focus is the coverage. Teams had a breakdown against Iowa, can't have that anymore. Punt and kickoff. And I'll say this time and time again, if you are running down the field and you are trailing one of your teammates and it's not a cross or there's not something that was called, whether or not they're right in front of you, they're always right because you can see what is going on and you can make the adjustment.
Jon Jansen • 09:57
Make sure you get you have all the, the coverage lanes covered and go down there and make a big play, make a big hit, create a turnover, attack the return game with violence and number three, precision with the pat and field goal. It's been good this year. Don't ever let off because as soon as you drop the focus on one of those, hey, there's a tip ball, there's a block, there's something that goes awry. And if you are in position for a, a pat or a field goal, those are points and every single point is going to matter. And number two, in terms of just the overall keys to special teams, go out there and make a play, make sure you're focused, make sure you understand what you're doing. But if your job is to block, then you go out there and make a play. Make those plays available to the returners in the block. Make a play, go down there with some violence on those coverage teams and make a big hit. Knock that ball out and go out there and make something happen on special teams.
Jeff Laurence • 11:03
Now it's time for Jon's locker room speech.
Jon Jansen • 11:07
Ninety nine percent of the time at the University of Michigan, when you go into a football game, it's not about what the opponent is doing. Yes, you've got to understand what their concepts are. You got to understand where the playmakers off are offense, defense and special teams. But it's simply about execution on what Michigan is doing offensively. I mentioned it in the Keys. You've got to play a violent brand of football. Defensively, that's where it really should shine. And honestly it has. With Chris Bracy, Smith Snowden, the way that you guys roam around in the secondary, it is a pleasure to watch you play football the way that the defense open field tackling. It is ABC. Always be closing. As coach had told us on the Monday night show, you have done a really nice job defensively of playing with violence. Keep that up. Now let's see if we can convert some of that violence to the offensive side of things.
Jon Jansen • 12:01
Let's see if we can convert some of that violence to what you're doing on special teams. That is the key to the game of football and the way that Michigan is supposed to play the game. You've got to play violent so that you can win at the point of attack in the run game. Even pass protection. Yeah, it might seem like a passive concept, but it doesn't have to be. You can approach pass protection with violence. We've seen it for the running back position all the time. You go up there, you step up into a hole, you made a running back or a linebacker that's coming through as a blitzer. Bam. You hit them and you, you apply that violence to every single concept. And if you do against Penn State, you will come out victorious. Go Blue.
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Jeff Laurence • 12:41
Thanks for listening to this edition of in the Trenches with John Jansen, presented by Meyer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season, and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. In the Trenches is part of our Michigan athletics podcast network, M GO Blue Podcasts. The proceeding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
