ANN ARBOR – Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, the two-decade NFL coaching veteran, likes the way the players have embraced a playoff mindset heading into their final two regular-season games.
The Wolverines are 8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, and must win at Maryland on Saturday and in the regular-season finale against defending national champion Ohio State on Nov. 29 at Michigan Stadium to have a shot at the playoff.
Martindale, meeting with reporters Wednesday, described Tuesday’s practice as spirited and locked in.
“What do the kids say? We were vibing,” Martindale said. “Did I sound cool saying that?
“There’s an energy and a focus that you have at this time of year, and we had it last year, too, but definitely they know that everything they’ve worked for is still all out in front of them. So we’ll see what happens.”
Michigan’s defense had to overcome five turnovers in the win over Northwestern at Wrigley Field last Saturday. The defense had two three-and-outs following the last two turnovers late in the game, and the Wolverines won on a field goal with time expiring. Now, the Wolverines are preparing to play at Maryland (4-6, 1-6).
The Wolverines’ defense ranks 17th allowing an average 298.1 yards and is 12th in scoring defense (17.7). The defense hit a wall in the loss at USC on Oct. 11 and allowed 489 total yards, including a brutal 224 rushing yards. Since then, the Wolverines have allowed an average 268.8 total yards in each of the next four games.
Losing at USC was an eye-opening experience that tested the players’ resolve. They feel like they’ve grown from that experience, and defensive lineman Tre Williams said how they’ve responded since that loss has shown how in sync the players are.
“Whatever happened to us at USC, a lot of teams after that, they start losing three, four, five games in a row,” Williams said this week. “After that game, we were like, that’s not gonna be us. “
Martindale said the defense has improved across the board since that loss.
“We’ve gotten better, whoever is in there,” Martindale said. “And this week’s going to be another great challenge for us, because it’s a loose-play offense, they play in space, and they have some really good athletes out there. It’s going to be a great challenge.
“When you just attack the fundamentals of the game, but especially in November, you can’t get bored with low pad level. I always point out to the players later on in the season, you see teams playing higher and higher as it goes, because it’s hard to keep that discipline for that long. And I think that’s what you’re seeing with the guys up front. They’re playing with great pad level. And when they don’t play with great pad level, it shows up. There’s a lot of guys who played some of their best football, and to win in November, you need your best players playing their best football.”
Martindale understands what the USC game meant to the Wolverines and the defense on several levels. But that was five weeks ago, and he wants to move on and stop dwelling on what happened then and focus on what’s going on with two regular-season games left.
**“**We keep bringing that up. It was a bad game,” Martindale said. “You’re going to have a bad game. Better early than late. We had too many missed tackles. I think it’s one of those things – you find out the true character of who you’re coaching and who you’re coaching with. You just got to go back to work, and that’s what makes this game so great is seeing those type of challenges after those type of games.”
How the Michigan defensive coaches handled that loss, Martindale said, trickled down to the players.
“There was no panic,” he said. “I put on our sheet that I’d go over to the kids the positive stuff. I (wrote): ‘Never have, never will.’ We didn’t flinch. Never have, never will. We just fix it and go play the next play. And it doesn’t matter how we have to go out there or why we have to go out there, we just go out there and do the best we can do and play as hard as we can play. And sometimes they make plays and sometimes we make plays. That’s why they tune in.”
That message was received by the players, as was the focus on fundamentals this deep in a season. The Wolverines understand what the key is for success these final two weeks of the regular season.
“Being consistent,” Williams said. “Not trying to have any superheroes. We got to where we are right now because everybody’s doing their job. Now does not call for somebody to be super-heroic and courageous and all this other stuff. We just gotta be us and do what we’ve gotta do and we should be all right.”
With the playoff mindset in place, Martindale would not touch a question regarding Ohio State. The Buckeyes stumbled last season against Michigan, despite being three-touchdown favorites, in large part because of the Wolverines’ defense.
“I’m focused on Maryland,” he said. “You can’t afford to do anything else. We’re in playoff football mode, and that part’s getting closer to the NFL than anything else. We know what’s ahead, and it’s still all out in front of us. We’ve got to have a great (week) before we go down to Maryland. And I like the rhythm that we’re in defensively in all aspects of it, in preparation and everything else. So it’s going to be a fun game to watch.”