The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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34 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2017 Michigan State, when you hit Penn State, when you hit Ohio that's when you've got to ramp it up and play ex- tremely well. "We'll have the talent, we'll have the depth, we'll have the quarterback that can make that happen. I really believe that next year, we're going to be play- ing in Indianapolis." The Wolverine: What are the biggest challenges Michigan faces in the Big Ten East? Karsch: "I think it's Ohio State and will continue to be Ohio State. Then Michigan has to separate itself from that second grouping of teams, with Penn State and Michigan State. "I'll be interested to see what hap- pens with James Franklin at Penn State, post-[running back] Saquon Barkley and [quarterback] Trace McSorley. I would think he's going to recruit well, and yet I just can't get past the fact that it's a powder keg deal that could blow up on Franklin at any moment. "Michigan State appears to be at the beginning of a stretch with some young players. I'm not sure they re- cruit at a level to compete for a na- tional championship, but they always seem to have a psychological edge against Michigan for some reason. That could be tough to address." Skene: "Number one, learning how to play against Michigan State. Michi- gan State has learned to take the emo- tion and intensity level to a degree of performance that it's no longer a little hokey-pokey thing. "Michigan State plays that game dif- ferently than we do. I saw that on tele- vision when I watched it. They play it at a different emotional level than we do. Number one, you've got to figure that one out. "Ohio State will always be domi- nated with NFL guys all over the field. You're just going to have to get back and learn how to play clean football in those games. "As long as Mark Dantonio is at the helm in East Lansing, there's your big- gest challenge right there, immedi- ately. The Ohio State thing, really, is secondary, if you lose to Sparty earlier in the year. "I don't think Penn State is the jug- gernaut people think they are this year. That's been proven out in the last couple of weeks, with back-to-back losses in games they probably should have won. "You've got to learn how to go on the road and win tough games. We haven't won at Ohio State since Drew Henson was the quarterback. There are a lot of things that we have not done that need to be done." Jansen: "The Big Ten East is so tough. In my opinion, it's the toughest division in college football. If you look at the SEC West, there's one team that dominates that division, and that's Alabama. "In the Big Ten West, there's really not much competition for Wisconsin. They're going to be coming out of that side for years. "But when you talk about the Big Ten East, and the talent Penn State has, the talent that Ohio has, Michigan State … you've got four teams that are going to be ranked in the top 20, if not the top 15, on a yearly basis. That is extremely tough competition. "You've seen that this year. It's a gauntlet. "That's the tough part about the College Football Playoff. The com- mittee doesn't want to put a two-loss team in there, but if you come out of the Big Ten East and you've got two division losses, you've still got to be considered. It's the toughest division in college football. "I really believe we have the best head coaches in the East in college football. Now, I wouldn't put James Franklin in there. But Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, Mark Dantonio, those are three of the best football coaches in college football today." Ray: "Winning road games and finding a way to not have any bad losses. I don't think Michigan can lose to a contender, like Michigan State. No one knew Michigan State was a contender a month ago, but when you lose those games, you lose that head- to-head advantage. "When Michigan State lost to North- western, that's a conference loss. But at the same time, they beat the two teams on their side, and they get the head-to- head match-up. "Michigan was in better shape than Penn State five years ago. You can't let a guy like James Franklin win a confer- ence championship and let Michigan State have a 3-9 season and then come back and get right back in the mix. "As far as the Big Ten East is con- cerned, Michigan has to find a way to knock these people off — out-scheme them, out-play them. They've got the players. "Michigan has to stop letting other people surpass them. That's where I stand with the East — it's tough in that division right now." The Wolverine: What is the real breakthrough year for this program, and what gets it over the top? Skene: "I can't tell you when. It could be next year. I can tell you a couple of things that have to happen for the program to get over the top. "Number one, you've got to have a set five guys up there in that offen- sive line, that are performing at a high level, that are comfortable executing the scheme and that are really good at two or three things. "Offensive line units just need to play thousands of reps together to get comfortable with one another. When they really start to jell, the verbal com- munication drops off and you just know what the guy next to you is go- ing to do. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters has many excited about the future with what he's shown on the field so far after two starts. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN