In the Trenches 599 - Western Michigan Preview Transcript
9/3/2026 5:08:00 PM | MGoBlue Podcasts
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Radio scene setter • 00:00
It's Michigan that says it all. I mean, Michigan and all that entails. And our team will fall right in line with what Michigan is used to. Michigan football. Physicality, toughness and grit. All one hundred. And whatever guys we have on this team are willing to put everything out there because they love each other. We just know it's gonna take everything. We have every extra hour in the training room, every extra second we watch film together. Everybody on the team has been waiting for this moment. We've worked so hard during this off season, so it's about time to portray. We have a lot of dogs on this team, and I'm just ready to see everybody go out there and go to work doing what we know we can and having the confidence to do it. We gotta set the tone, man. Like, this is week one coming up, man, and it's time to go. They know the mission. Just go on and know, win that game. It's gonna be a battle and we're gonna be ready to go.
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Jeff Laurence • 00:46
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 • 01:06
Well, the twenty twenty six Michigan football season is finally upon us. Team one hundred and forty seven will take the field on Saturday against the Western Michigan Broncos. Kickoff time is officially seven thirty six. And before we get to the keys and anything else in regards to the business of actually getting there, I do have a couple of things that I want to remind the players and you as fans about what I want to see when Michigan takes on Western Michigan. This is the first. There's five teams on the schedule that are ten win teams. This is the first one. Western Michigan is the defending Mac champs. They had a tremendous season and they bring back in large part all of the playmakers that they had last year. They did tap into the transfer portal more on defense than on offense. But all the guys that they're going to be counting on, from quarterback to running back, receivers, in large part, they are all returning.
Jon Jansen • 02:08
So having said that, for this team, for Michigan, you must limit penalties on both sides of the ball. And if you listen to the broadcast on Monday night, the coaches show with Coach Whittingham, his teams traditionally are among the least penalized teams. That gives you a chance in every single game. And in the first one, it's going to come down to discipline. You're taking everything from what you did on the practice field to the game field. The, the intensity is wrapped up, the expectations are ramped up. Obviously the fans are there, so you got to make sure you're focused. Limit the penalties and missed assignments. We don't need any free runners at the quarterback. We don't need any wide receivers running wide open down the field. So make sure you're zeroed in on your responsibilities and no penalties. You got to keep your head in the game at all times, especially early on in games that you're supposed to be heavily favored and this is one of those games you're a forged touchdown favorite.
Jon Jansen • 03:06
Don't be the guy on the sideline gets called for and then all of a sudden, hey, you can't, you can't be found or you can't find your helmet like that. Those are the things of absolute nightmares. You never know when your chance is going to come. You better be ready because it may only happen one time. If you can't be found, they go to the next guy on the depth chart and everyone else is, is rocking and rolling. So those are just a few keys for the entire team. There's more that I'm going to get into offense, defense and special teams. Plus make sure you listen all the way to the end because I am going to give a little bit of a locker room speech. And yes, this is the first game, so I'll be a little bit excited, but it'll be tempered just a bit because we've got eleven more after this one and hopefully a Big Ten championship game, college football playoffs. And ultimately the goal is to win a national championship.
Jon Jansen • 03:54
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Jeff Laurence • 04:28
Offense.
Jon Jansen • 04:30
You got a couple of keys for offense. The number one is to trust your technique. And it doesn't matter the position whether it's quarterback, running back, O line, tight end, wide receiver, anything in between. Trust your technique up front for. For the off. For the offensive line, there's four new players across the defensive front.
Jon Jansen • 04:48
They all came in from via the transfer portal. And whether there are new players to the program for Western Michigan or they are from last year, this is the. The game where you will know the least about your opponent as you will all season long. They know the least about you as well. We've got a new coach, We've got a new, you know, offensive and defensive system. Hell of a lot of new players as well. Going into the opening week of the football season, you know less about your opponent than you will the rest of the year. So trust your technique. And then number two, along those same lines, make sure you communicate. You should be learning about your opponent and communicate what you're learning on the field to your coaches. Yeah, you're going to have coaches that are going to be looking from the booth, from the sideline. They're going to let you know what's going on, what they see.
Jon Jansen • 05:37
But there is no better vision, there is no better perspective than the guys that are on the field. So when you come to the sideline, make sure you're communicating with your coaches. Hey, we saw this on film. It's not really how they're doing it, or this is how the guy is playing, or I can read this guy's stance. There's a lot of different things that you can tell your coach that will ultimately let Jason Beck know, the offensive coordinator, how to best proceed late in the first, second, and certainly in the second half. Number three, protect Bryce. You've got to show in this game the ability to be explosive downfield. We know from a Jason Beck offense, whether it was at New Mexico or last year at Utah, he loves to run the football. And hell, you're going to have the Rhino formation, that extra offensive lineman in there. That is no question at all.
Jon Jansen • 06:25
But the one thing that we have to learn as a program, as a team, is can we go deep? Can we have the forward pass be an explosive part of this offense? And if you're an offense that wants to be able to dictate what a defense is doing or dictate what you are doing offensively, everybody wants a balanced offense and go back. You know, throughout the time of my time here in Michigan, one of the things I've talked about is if you've got an offense that when you want to run the ball, you can run the ball, not have to, but you want to, that's when it. That's when you've got a really good run game. Same thing for the pass game, when you can pass the ball when you want to. And stay out of those. Those Those moments where you have to, but you can still do it there. That's when you've got a balanced offense and you've got to be able to protect Bryce. You've got, he's got a lot a better system around him and he's got more of a supporting cast.
Jon Jansen • 07:21
You've got an experienced offensive line, Jordan Marshall in the backfield experience. You got the talent of Savion Hiter and the wide receivers. Hey, it's a much more talented group than we've had in previous season. So it's all there now. You got to put those pieces together. And number four touched upon this a little bit, but I'm going to hit it again. Limit the penalties and missed assignments there. You don't want any free runners at the quarterback or at the running back. You got to make sure up front that you're communicating all five guys, including the tight end receivers, if they're in A wing and they're in protection or the rhino, you've got to make sure everyone's on the same page. So the quarterback knows who you're picking up in the past game. The running back knows who you're going to in the run game. Because there's always going to be one guy that's unblocked.
Jon Jansen • 08:08
You want to leave that as the furthest away from the football so that whether it's quarterback, running back, whoever the ball carrier is, that they, they know who that is and where they've got to initially go with the football.
Jeff Laurence • 08:21
Defense.
Jon Jansen • 08:24
I mentioned in the open that there are some playmakers that are back for this Western Michigan team. And number one, quarterback, Broc Lowry, Mack offensive player of the year, he is back and he rushed for just shy of a thousand yards last year. Fourteen rushing touchdowns over eighteen hundred passing yards. And then you look in the backfield, they got Jalen Buckley who was dinged up at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year he was a thousand yard back and he was the MVP of the MAC championship game as well as their bowl game. They have the ability to run downhill, they have the ability to do it with the quarterback, with the running back and they can also air the ball out.
Jon Jansen • 09:04
So those are just some of the things that we know going in. So what does that mean for the keys? Number one, stop the run. And this is a great test to prepare for Oklahoma and John Mateer, we know he's a dual threat guy. If you can find a way to be disciplined with Broc Lowry with the ball in his hands, does he have the ball does he? Handing the ball off to Jalen Buckley. It doesn't matter to you where that ball is. You've got responsibilities. And once it's determined, yeah, pursuit to the ball is vital, but you've got to make sure if I'm on the edge and I have the running back, you stay there. If I'm on the back edge and I've got the quarterback, your eyes are on that quarterback until you can determine for certain that he doesn't have the ball. And then you get on your horse and you go pursue. Number two, discipline. Kind of touched on it a little bit in number one, but it's going to bleed into number two, discipline in your run reads, pass rush, lanes and responsibilities in the secondary.
Jon Jansen • 10:05
This is a talented defense that is going to take the field for Michigan. And you've got to make sure with Rod Moore back in the, in the defensive backfield, that communication. You've got a coach on the field. Use that knowledge, use that experience and make sure you communicate, but that you have the ability to be disciplined and don't fall for play action. Don't, don't get slipped up and think, well, hey, the quarterback just made a big play. I'm going to try and come up and knock his head off. No, you've got your certain responsibilities that prevents big plays and it gets you off the field. Number three, attack the passer. The best way to slow down a quarterback that is as dynamic as Brock Lowry is to hit him, hit him often, hit him repeatedly, and when the game is over, you pick him up, you dust them off and say, hey, thanks for coming to the big house, big fella.
Jon Jansen • 10:55
Good luck the rest of the season. This is an offense that is formidable. They're a championship offense. They've got playmakers back. You need to make sure you're aware of where everybody is on the field. But it's about playing Michigan's game defensively.
Jeff Laurence • 11:10
Special teams.
Jon Jansen • 11:11
We've heard it from Coach Whittingham, we've heard it from the assistant coaches, we've heard it from the players how important special teams is to this coaching staff and ultimately that trickles down to the players. And how important it is for the players to have success in all three phases. Yeah, your offensive guys on offense, defense on defense, but all three, all, both of those are going to contribute on special teams. And there is no simple special teams play. There is no give me in special teams. If you're an offensive lineman, hey, you've got to protect your butts off for pat field goals. You got to give new kicker Trey Butkowski the opportunity to, to have a great view and a non rushed. No. As, as much as you could, take away the pressure of the opponent, allow him to sit there and get some of those kicks off, put them through the uprights, get points when you can.
Jon Jansen • 12:01
But it's about consistency. That's going to be the theme for, for this special teams group all season long. And I think we saw. Well, you can't develop consistency in one game. But we saw the difference when Kerry Combs stepped in as special teams coordinator. What we saw in the regular season last year, what we saw against Texas in the bowl game, it was a completely different makeup of special teams. Now you've given them that entire off season. It's about going out there and taking advantage of the things that other, other teams are going to give you and consistently performing as a special teams group. Number two, communication from sideline to game time. That what I'm talking about in terms of sideline. I mentioned it at the top. Hey, don't be the guy that somebody's calling for your name because there's, you need eleven out there. If it's, if it's, you're going to try to block a punt, it's better to do with eleven than it is ten.
Jon Jansen • 12:50
And make sure that you're communicating all of that when you're on the field, that you don't have twelve. Somebody out there count everybody up. If there's twelve, get somebody off the field so you don't waste the time out and you certainly don't want a penalty that would extend a drive. But it's communication from sideline to game time. You take it out there and now what's the rush? How are we blocking this punt? How are we going to block the return? Whether it's kickoff return, punt return, all of those different things have to be communicated and it comes back to consistency. Number three, somebody make a play. And I don't care if it's a punt block, I don't care if it's a kick return. And maybe the, the best plays are just the Pats by Trey Bukowski. That's fine with me. Or it's a field goal. Get in the field goal range and take the points that are there.
Jon Jansen • 13:38
This is an opportunity to set the tone for the season for this special teams group.
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Jeff Laurence • 13:46
Now it's time for John's locker room speech.
Jon Jansen • 13:50
Every time you take the field the very first game of the year, you're going to know less about your opponent than you ever will about any Opponent you will play the rest of the season. Next week you'll have a little bit of film. It will build on itself. But this is the game where you got to be locked into what you are doing individually as a unit, as an offense, defense or special teams group, and then ultimately as a team. This is an audition. You are auditioning for greatness. You are auditioning for success. Anytime you step on the field, that starts to build your resume. What you are as an individual and what you are as a team. Build that resume so that when you play Oklahoma, there are things that they, that you strike fear into that team that they've got to account for, that they've got to spend time planning for. And then it's on to utep. But it's more important, what are you going to do in the Big Ten season?
Jon Jansen • 14:45
What do you want to put on film in these initial three games? But this is your first chance to do it. That will cause concern for Iowa, for Indiana, for Oak, for, for Oregon. All of those teams are going to be looking at this film. Set a standard of play. That is your standard. You're not playing down to anyone's level and it doesn't matter who it is this year, but make sure you set that standard. So, hey, this week against Western Michigan, how are we setting that standard and how can we reach and surpass that standard? Next week against Oklahoma, how can we reach and surpass it against utep, against Iowa? You get into that Big Ten schedule and you want to be playing your best football. It's an opportunity. And young guys, take a look at the veterans, look at the seniors. You are playing for those guys. For some of them, it's their last chance to ever take the field in the big house.
Jon Jansen • 15:34
It's their last chance to ever, ever have that first game, to have that last season. Their, their, their opportunity to play college football will end at the end of the season. This is your chance to play for them the same way that when you're in their position, you're going to want those guys to play for you. It's an opportunity to go out there, audition, set a standard and win. Every time you take the field, it doesn't matter how you get there. There's a certain roadmap you want to follow. But ultimately you score one more point than the other team, you score another touchdown, you, you start stacking touchdowns and drives on top of each other. You start stacking quarterback hips and, and, and three and outs. You do that, you build a little bit of confidence today and you build on it. That's what this game is all about. So go out there, take care of business for yourself, for your unit, for your team.
Jon Jansen • 16:28
Ultimately, you will take care of business in the win loss column. And that's the most important thing. Go Blue.
Jeff Laurence • 16:35
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, MGO Blue Podcasts. The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
