ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Though the one shining example of Michigan football still having something going after Week 1 was its defense, many expected it to fall apart once the Wolverines took the field against Oklahoma. After all, the Sooners were something of a mirror image of the maize and blue, but seemingly just better.
However, they play the games for a reason.
The Michigan defensive front had the Oklahoma offensive front in shambles for much of the game. And even though the first game left a lot to be desired, there wasn't a moment on Saturday when everything 'clicked' -- the team already knew what it had and what it was capable of. Because it had to know given how tough the schedule looked on paper.
"Oh, I mean, man, it started last week -- it started,
I don't know, the offseason," senior defensive tackle Enow Etta said. "You look at the schedule -- I mean, people say what they want. It's not even rising to the challenge; it's just like, that's our schedule. You know what I mean? So, it's like, everybody on the list is like, we got to bring our A game. I don't think it was such things like, oh, them, there, them. No, it's just like, we're us, and we're going to bring our best every weekend. That's either enough, or it's enough. You know what I mean?
"So, I wouldn't even say there's rising to the challenge. It's just, we just got to play our game, and we know when we play our game, we're going to be the best. So, we just got to be our best, and we know our best. I mean, you know what I mean? Sky's the limit."
Of course, the Wolverines got more confidence as the game went on, but there was never a feeling like Oklahoma was ever going to be too much. There wasn't an early moment in the game that changed the team's belief, as if it didn't think it could handle the Sooners until such-and-such a play happened.
The maize and blue always had the belief it could go out and handle business, even if the national narrative said otherwise. As Etta says, the coaches instill confidence in them, going beyond a simple Week 2 nonconference matchup. And the team came off the bus ready to win.
"That was just the belief there. It's like, we just got to line up and do it," Etta said. "And then, as the game went on, it's like, OK, we're going pretty well, we're just going to keep doing what we're doing. And then, it gets to the end of the game, and it's like, shoot, I mean -- good outcome, I guess. You know what I mean?
"So, yeah, I mean, you got to step on the field, believe, and I believe. And I know a lot of the guys, Dom, John Henry, especially those two guys, they're crazy. But we all believe that. You know what I mean? It's like, you step on the field. If you don't think you should win, like -- the coaches tell us all the time, like, if you don't believe in us, stay in the hotel. You know what I mean? We'll just pick you up after the game on the bus. You know what I mean?
"So I think it's just like first snap mentality. It's like, you're not going out there, and you don't believe you're better than the guy in front of you, then you're just holding us back, you know?"
Through two games, Michigan's won by a combined eight points. But the defense has allowed just one touchdown and five field goals thus far -- to a Western Michigan team that put up 49 in Week 2 and an Oklahoma team that managed 51 in Week 1.
The Wolverines heard all of the chatter about how bad the team was after the first contest against the Broncos, and they used it as fuel to take down the then-10th-ranked Sooners. And now that they've fed a bit of that hunger, Etta insists the team is still that much more ravenous to prove what it's capable of.
"It's what we expected to do, you know what I mean?" Etta said. "Going into that game, it wasn't a surprise to all of us because that's what we were working for all week. We knew what we could do, and we kind of had our backs to the wall in terms of the whole country. So, we were like, let's show everybody what we can do. So when we went out there, I mean, it might have been a surprise to a lot of people, but we knew that was our standard. And we're going to continue to put that on tape every week."
The Oklahoma defense shut out UTEP in Week 1. The Miners are now coming to Ann Arbor, and assuredly the Michigan defense will look to do the same. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on BTN.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Enow Etta reveals Michigan's mindset entering Oklahoma upset
