On the heels of a brutal 31-13 loss to the USC Trojans, the Michigan Wolverines reached a crossroads. In a game where, frankly, the score could have even been more lopsided, they looked lifeless in all three phases. But they responded with a resounding 24-7 win over a one-loss Washington team.
So how did they rebound so quickly and effectively? They had some tough conversations internally that needed to be had.
Michigan had had a tumultuous week leading up to the Washington game. Having tumbled out
of the AP Top-25, the season was on the brink of falling apart with another conference loss. Tempers could have flared, and perhaps they did behind closed doors. But head coach Sherrone Moore and company kept level heads and rebounded to keep all their goals ahead of them.
“We talked after the game at USC about just being all in and trusting each other and trusting the process,” Moore said. “We had some tough conversations throughout the week, offensively, defensively of what we need to do and how we need to adjust and how we need to play better. The response by our staff was outstanding, but more importantly, our players played with their hair on fire, played with detail and played with great fundamentals. Just really proud of our kids.”
Moore understandably refused to divulge what exactly was said over the week, but whatever it was, it worked.
“We responded,” Moore said. “Everybody responded offensively, defensively, special teams. We responded.”
Respond they did. After giving up 489 total yards against USC, including 224 yards on the ground, the defense held Washington to 249 total yards, with just 40 of them coming on the ground. The Wolverines were also more efficient on third down, going 6-of-13 against the Huskies.
Team captain Max Bredeson also spoke about the tough conversations that were had. He emphasized the growth that came out of those meetings, regardless of who led them.
“Sometimes the toughest conversations are the best ones to have,” Bredeson said. “I think they definitely helped the team and we were able to move through that and grow closer because of it.”
Some of the conversations were player-led while others were led by the coaching staff, per Bredeson. However, both of them emphasized a team-first mentality.
Moore also elaborated on the necessity of these types of conversations and the importance of facing the tough questions directly.
“You’ve got to have those,” Moore said. “In any great organization and any great family, there’s conflict. There’s things that happen. You’ve got to push each other and we did that this week, but we’ve got to continue to do it.”
The Wolverines will look to continue this newfound momentum when they travel to East Lansing on Saturday to face the Michigan State Spartans at 7:30 p.m.
