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Jon Jansen, voice of Michigan football, highlights keys to Michigan State game on offense, defense
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Jon Jansen, the voice of Michigan Football, gave his insights on how the Wolverines can beat MSU for the 1st time since 2019 on Saturday in Ann Arbor. Jansen highlighted all this on his Michigan football podcast ‘In The Trenches with Jon Jansen’
Offensively, Jansen said the biggest key was finding ways to eliminate careless turnovers while also “being true to yourself.”
In 3 of their 4 conference games this season, the Wolverines have recorded at least 1 turnover. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw interceptions against Indiana and Penn State while C.J. Stokes recorded a fumble in the closing minutes of the 1st quarter against Maryland.
As for the “true to yourself” mantra, Jansen suggests trusting the run game. The combination of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards has dominated the B1G trenches this season.
Defensively, Jansen believes the key is to force MSU quarterback Payton Thorne to feel the pressure. This season, the junior gunslinger has thrown at least 1 interception in 5 of his last 7 starts. Jansen also suggested that the Wolverines should make the Spartans 1-dimensional on offense.
Currently, Michigan State ranks 115th in rushing offense (106.1 yards per game) and 66th in passing. Both running backs Jalen Berger and Jerek Broussard have struggled to find explosiveness on the ground since the start of conference play, averaging roughly 3.7 yards per run.
Kickoff from The Big House is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.