ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- If you're a Michigan football fan, and you went to bed upset after the unlikely close game and unlikely comeback 13-12 win over Western Michigan, you're not alone. Even Wolverines players struggled to sleep.
Running back Jordan Marshall, the junior team captain, says that he couldn't fall asleep on Sunday morning after the game, noting that not only was it a disappointing game, but he felt for all of the fans he and the team let down.
"I didn't go to bed until probably like five after the game, and then the next day still didn't go to bed until really, really late," Marshall said. "I think what really had me just up is what can I do better as a captain, as a player, as a leader of this team is looking myself in the mirror,
and I think that a lot of guys did that.
"But also what gets me upset is how we perform for our fans and the countless people that come to watch our games. We have 110,000 people and more that support us every single week. So for me, that just had me upset because they give everything and they love this program. So making sure that this week we can put on a show for them and be the team that we say we're going to be, and not only do it for ourselves, but for this community, the people before us, and I'm just excited for the opportunity that we get to go play a team like Oklahoma.
"It's a really good football team, a top 10 football team, and I'm just excited for the opportunity for not only myself, but our team, our coaches, our fans, and I'm just excited to go out there and have a fresh start."
Fellow team captain Rod Moore -- who was a part of all three Big Ten championships, and knows what winning football looks like -- said on Tuesday that the team played soft. Marshall agrees, and notes that he's shocked to have been outrushed, with the Broncos having played a more physical brand of football, despite all evidence before the season that Michigan would be one of the most physical teams in the country.
Regardless, Marshall says he and the team are taking accountability, vowing to not let such a thing happen again.
"100%, and that's kind of where my mind was also at, is I haven't seen us play this soft," Marshall said. "I've never seen us get outrushed since I've been here and since I've watched Michigan. So that's something that I'm like, what can I do? Because that doesn't happen, especially we're more physical than that team, and we didn't show it. And I don't know if it's because we're looking ahead or we're like, oh, it's Western, but quite honestly, Western's a really good football team, really good coach, really good players, players that play really hard, and they're going to do something great this season, and I'm happy for them. They played well, really good, again, really good football team.
"And again, I don't think that was our best brand of football. I think Jake would say the same thing. I think all those guys on the line would say the same thing, is that they would take accountability, just like I'm taking accountability for it, we have to be better because everything stems from the run game."
The offense only had the ball for 19 minutes in the game, and Marshall says that's unacceptable.
He's not casting blame on the defense as much as he's noting that the offense has to do a better job of sustaining drives and doing what it's supposed to do. Even so, he says it's difficult for a player like him to get going the way that the game was going, and that something has to change this week when the Wolverines host Oklahoma.
"I feel like it's hard because you can't get a rhythm," Marshall said. "Like, you can't. Your rhythm is, I mean, we played, I think it was like 19-40, how long we had possession, and I didn't know that until somebody said it in our player-led meeting, and I was like, wow. And that's, you just, again, there's no pace or rhythm you have.
"Like, even me as a player, I'm out there, and I can't get a rhythm because we're not out there long enough, or I can't get going, and I think that's how a lot of our guys were. You're just standing on the sideline, you're trying to keep warm, but it's weird because you're just watching for so long. And, again, I'm used to being the other way around.
"So now I know how that feeling feels, and I have to do a better job at preparing for moments like that. And also, we have to be better because we can't have our defense out there for 40-plus minutes. It's unacceptable. They play too hard. They work too hard. Again, it's just unacceptable."
We'll see if the Wolverines can rebound from the improbable close win on Saturday, when the Sooners come to The Big House. Kickoff is slated for 12:14 p.m. EDT.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jordan Marshall reveals sleepless nights after Michigan's 'soft' win
