In the Trenches 602 - Oklahoma Preview Transcript
9/10/2026 5:00:00 PM | MGoBlue Podcasts
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Radio Network Scene Setter • 00:00
Michigan and Oklahoma. Go Blue versus Boomer Sooner. This is why people love college football. One of those games that is every kid's dream. You want to coach a big-time ball. This is big-time ball here. First time Oklahoma has been here in Michigan Stadium. It's an opportunity to go play a top-ten team. Biggest stages of college football, the big games where stars shine. I think we know what we have to do going into this next week. We just need to stay true to us. Like I know what what we can do. All these guys like we've put in hours and hours and hours of work. We just got to go out there and play our game for Michigan, for our families, for the and may the best team win at the end of the game.
Jeff Laurence • 00:37
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 across the Midwest. Now here's Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 00:56
Coaches preach that the biggest improvement, especially in college football, is from week one to week plenty for this Michigan football team to work on. We'll see what some of those improvements are and we'll get to our keys in just a moment. But start or end your college game day experience at one of the great Main Street Ventures Restaurant Group locations where they craft sophisticated yet tempting culinary dishes and provide a dining experience that is both vibrant and inviting. This is what they call exemplified excellence. Visit Real Seafood Company for the freshest fish and seafood, Palio for authentic Italian or the Chop House for premium USDA prime steaks and chops. Whatever the craving, these Ann Arbor locations are ready to satisfy your every desire. They offer full bars, extensive wine lists, craft cocktails and delectable desserts and a cigar bar located at the Chop House at Main Street Ventures Restaurant Group.
Jon Jansen • 01:57
They strive to offer unmatched hospitality to every single guest at every single location because to them every you're not just a customer, you're their most valued guest. Visit Main Street Ventures Income to select your culinary destination and make a reservation. Come hungry and ready for an unforgettable experience.
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Jeff Laurence • 02:20
Offense.
Jon Jansen • 02:21
I'm not going to focus a lot on Oklahoma. We know that there is going to be a jump up in talent, jump up in speed, jump up in athleticism going from week one to week two. What this week needs to focus on is getting back to the basics. Offense number one, get lined up, listen to the call and pay attention to details. If you're on the ball, off the ball, left, right, if you're in the slot, you've got to pay attention to all those details, have some awareness for those that are lined up around you. And quarterback, you know what the formation is supposed to be. Take a look out there and hey, you're not in the huddle long. And a lot of times you're getting set up at the line of scrimmage. The take a look, go through your checks and make sure that everyone is where they're supposed to be. If one of the receivers supposed to be on the ball, just a nice little reminder, move up on the ball.
Jon Jansen • 03:13
And receivers, the referee can be your friend. Look out there, they'll tell you, they'll give you a nod. Yeah, you're on the ball. No, you're off. And they'll give you a thumbs up. Use them as a reference point. And offensive line, get up to the ball, hustle up there and get set. Everything is going to get set after you are. So you've got to make sure that you start the play with a chance for success. No pre-snap penalties. We didn't have, you know, hey, you're not jumping off sides, that's a positive. But we can't have drive-killing penalties. Number two, offensive line. To get the run game going, you've got to get onto the linebackers. How do we do that, you ask? Well, it's not that difficult. Here's what you have to do. You've got to use good footwork that will be dictated by what the play is. You should know coming to line of scrimmage, what type of footwork I'm going to use.
Jon Jansen • 04:08
Now, it may adjust with what where the defense lines up. And you've got to use good footwork to put yourself in a position that if you're having a double team and it appears at the snap of the ball that you are the one that's going to come off on the linebacker most, first and foremost, you have to get movement on that defensive lineman. Get in there hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, drive that defensive lineman off the ball, strain, get him off the ball, but keep that off hand out of the block. You don't have to have four hands, two for each guy on the block. It should be two hands, one with, you know, if, if I'm the right tech, I'm working with the tight end, it is right hand on the block, his left hand. And then if that linebacker presents himself to me now, all of a sudden I can come off because I'm not engaged too much with that down lineman. Same thing for guards, centers.
Jon Jansen • 05:04
You've got to make sure that you're free so that you can come off on that linebacker. And when you do, do your palace solid, give them a nice lift, raise them up. Hey, whoever's staying on that block, if it's a tight end now, all of a sudden, hey, they could take it over and they could put them on their backside. You get off on that linebacker, now you have a chance for success. To be able to move the ball on the ground, you got to get movement up front and you've got to be able to get to the linebackers, number three, the quarterback. Get to your second and third options. Hey, if the first one's there, and you should know pre snap if he's going to be there or not, now all of a sudden, hey, get the ball out to him, get the ball out of your hands and. And let's move on to the next play. But don't predetermine where the ball is going. Don't stare down your receivers.
Jon Jansen • 05:48
It move the safeties and the defense with your eyes. You may know where you want to go to the ball, but that's the beautiful thing. You know the play, they don't. Don't telegraph it. So make sure that you're using your eyes to your advantage, using your body to your advantage. And if that first read's not there, hey, bump over the second, bump over to the third bump. Protection has to allow him to do that. But against the Brett Venables defense, hey, this defense is going to lie to you. They're going to tell you a lot of things pre-snap that's not true after the ball is snapped. So you've got to make sure that you are, you have a heightened sense of awareness and go through the keys and the tells that you've learned throughout watching film, throughout practice. Trust what the coaches are telling you and get the ball downfield.
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Jeff Laurence • 06:34
Defense.
Jon Jansen • 06:36
Number one, turnovers. You must get the ball out. And whether that ball is getting punched out, knocked out, torn out, get it on the ground, recover it if it's in the air, hey, we were in position to get an interception. We just didn't complete the process of the entire play. Got flagged for a penalty. But if you're going to do all the hard work of being in position, then finish the play with the ball in your hand. So we've got to create turnovers, more opportunities for the offense and for, for the opponents. This week, it's Oklahoma. Get them out of their rhythm, get them questioning what they're doing. Doubt sets in. You've got to find ways to turn the ball over. You've got to get sudden change situations. It is a game changer for everyone. And hey, the play is made on defense. But now all of a sudden, offense is fired up. Maybe they go out there and they get some points on the board.
Jon Jansen • 07:26
Special teams fired up, they make something big happen. It's a snowball effect. Be the one that gets the ball rolling. Number two, gap integrity. Know where you fit in and then get in defensive line and linebackers. All right, hey, we talk about blocking movement offensively if you are moving as a defense. And hey, I'm starting in the B gap as a defensive tackle, but I know I'm going to the A. Make sure you're on the same page with your linebacker so that they know where to fit in. Don't give them any false reads. Make sure you go, you, you fill, fill your one one eleventh so that the reads, there's nothing that is left to guesswork. You can't have two guys in a gap because I guarantee you in this, against this offense, whether it's John Mateer, one of the backs, one of the receivers, because they like to hand them the ball as well, they're going to make you pay if you make a mistake.
Jon Jansen • 08:16
So minimize the mistakes. Know where you get, where you fit in and get there. And number three, discipline, discipline, discipline. You had a nice game against Western Michigan to be able to see what it looks like to have a quarterback that's going to run the football. And they did exactly what Oklahoma did last year. If they had to get two yards, they got two and a half, they had to get four yards, they got four and a half. That's what it felt like last year with John Mateer operating in this offense. And that's what they want to be yet again now, hey, a little bit different because they do have the ability to go downfield. So you got to be disciplined as a corner, as a safety. Anybody in the, in the secondary, make sure you understand what your reads are. And if don't drop a receiver because you think you handed the ball off, it leads to big plays. You got to make sure you're disciplined.
Jon Jansen • 09:09
And on defense, that quarterback has the ball, but you've got the running back. Make sure you understand that. Hey, I can't crash down if my responsibility is the running back. I got to make sure, I got to make certain running back doesn't have the ball. And now it's about pursuit. So be disciplined. There's going to be a lot of distractions, a lot of bells and whistles in this offense, a lot of motions, a lot of. A lot of people moving around pre-snap. But you know what your assignment is and make sure that you do what you're supposed to do.
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Jeff Laurence • 09:41
Special teams.
Jon Jansen • 09:43
Last week we talked about consistency and a lot of that comes with just making good decisions. When to catch the ball, when to and run, when to fair catch, when to let it bounce. Those things are predetermined. Some of it on kick returns. We talked to Coach Whittingham earlier in the week. Some, you know, it depends on how deep you are in the end zone.
Jon Jansen • 10:02
Some of it will depend on the score of the game. If they want you to try and make a play, they will communicate that clearly with you. But make good decisions. We can't have the ball on the ground at any point, but especially on special teams. Number two, pursuit. This is a team last week that took one to the house in the punt return game. They are extremely dangerous in the return game. They do a nice job of setting up their returns. They do a nice job of getting to the wall, setting the wall and getting behind it and going to the house. We've seen it already, it's on film. So you must make sure that you are in good pursuit and also in that when you are before they even receive the ball, don't get stacked up. Well what does that mean? You have to stay in your lanes. You shouldn't be following somebody down with the same color jersey as you. If you are, you're wrong.
Jon Jansen • 10:55
Make sure you bump over, get in your lane, don't leave any gaps or holes in the coverage. Number three, field position. This is going to be a tough game. It's going to be a fight from start to finish. Every yard is going to matter against Oklahoma field position. So if you're on the punt team, nice job last week of forcing the fair catches of hey some of its hang time, some of its location of where the punter kicks the ball. But make sure that pursuit gunners get downfield, make that return man make a decision early that they're going to fair catch it. Same thing in the kick cover team. You've got to make sure that you get downfield and if they're going to bring it out and trust me, they got the athletes to do it. So make sure you get downfield and don't let them even get to the twenty five and give yourself a chance at good field position and return game, it's exactly the opposite.
Jon Jansen • 11:50
Pick up a first down, get some yardage so it's less for the offense, less work that the offense has to do. Every yard is going to matter against Oklahoma.
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Jeff Laurence • 12:02
Now it's time for Jon's locker room speech.
Jon Jansen • 12:06
When this game kicks off at twelve fourteen noon in the Big House, the only thing that you need to be thinking about is not what happened last year, not what happened last week, not what happened Sunday through Friday. It's all focus on what you are doing today to win for Michigan. It's about discipline. It's about making sure that all the details are taken care of. And that happens in the Sunday through Friday. That you're watching film, that you're getting amped up, that you're getting prepared and you are taking what you see on film to the practice field and then you got to take what you're doing on the practice field to the game field. No, there's no question that this is a talented Michigan football team. Now it's a matter of execution. Coaches are going to put you in the right position. They're going to give you the right plays. They want you to be successful.
Jon Jansen • 12:58
Now it's a matter of going out there and performing. This is the next opportunity for you to determine what this Michigan football team is going to be. Is this going to be a team with an identity that is physical, that is tough, that is resilient, and that's what it's going to take coming out of what we had last week. Not a perfect performance, not even close. But it's not about perfection. You came away with the win and now it's about continuing to get better, show improvement, go out there, be the more physical team, be the team that runs the ball better, be the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. And if you do that, you're going to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. And then it's about who's going to step up to make plays in every three phases. Offense, defense, special teams. We need players to go out there and make plays. It happened last week.
Jon Jansen • 13:51
JJ Buchanan called upon to do something special and he rose to the occasion. Who's it going to be this week? Make it be you. Here we go. Go Blue.
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Jeff Laurence • 14:02
Thanks for listening to this edition of In the Trenches with Jon Jansen. Presented by Meijer, 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 preceding is a Learfield, present of the Michigan Sports Network.
