4 Most Important Kyle Whittingham Quotes Ahead of Michigan's Game vs. Michigan State

Kyle Whittingham met with the media on Monday to preview the Michigan State game. Here's what he had to say.

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Michigan got out of Piscataway with a win. It was yet another weird game for the Wolverines. Michigan's offense scored the most points it's scored against a Power Four team this season, but the Wolverines' defense gave up the most points it's allowed all season.

At 5-3, Michigan will turn the page and host its rival, Michigan State, on Saturday. The Spartans will come into Ann Arbor with two wins and a new coach, Pat Fitzgerald.

Here's what Whittingham had to say about the game, offensive line, and other items.

On Michigan State rivalry and calling it Spartans' Super Bowl

Whittingham: "Well, it's intense, obviously. A lot of nastiness in it. I guess there was a fight a couple years ago. So, yeah. It's a game that both teams throw out the records.

"...We have 55 new guys on our team this year that have never played here and don't know a whole lot about it. So a lot of this week will be educating those guys on what the rivalry is all about. Some former players that will come in and talk to our guys and get them up to speed and give their background and their take on it.

"So we'll do our very best this week to educate them without overdoing it. We'll bring 10 guys in here to talk. We'll have two or three former players come and give their take on it. Essentially 50% of the team that doesn't know much about it.

"...We went through that stuff in the summer and the term hatred and this and that, and so I don't want to come across as the rivalry is not important. They are. This game is the Super Bowl, particularly for them. We don't want to downplay it at all.

"I'm not trying to downplay it. But still, when all is said and done, you've got to keep everything in perspective. I guess that's the position I'm trying to take."

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Our take: Saturday will mark Kyle Whittingham's first rivalry game as the Wolverines' head coach. But after coaching at Utah for over 20 seasons, he knows all about rivalries. He said this game feels like the Holy War, which is the Utes' rivalry game with BYU.

Whittingham caught a lot of heat this offseason when it appeared like he downplayed the Ohio State rivalry. But he didn't make the same mistake this time. He was honest after the game against Rutgers, saying he's been learning more about this rivalry, and he plans on having former Michigan players coming in to talk about the Michigan State rivalry.

Michigan State has won two games this season and the Spartans would love nothing more than to upset the Wolverines. Whittingham noted that 55 players on the roster haven't played in this game and Michigan has a lot of teaching to do prior to the game against the Spartans.

Having an open kicking competition

Whittingham: "We open up the kicking competition this week. We'll have just a competition and see who comes out on top. And whoever is the better kicker in practice will kick...All of them, yeah, all three of them. But primarily Baggett and Trey. But Stewart's in the mix as well."

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Our take: This needed to happen. After connecting on his first four attempts as the Michigan kicker, Trey Butkowski has missed four of his last six kicks. The Wolverines lost 13-6 in overtime to Indiana, and if Butkowski had made one of his misses, Michigan could've won that game. Obviously, he wasn't the sole reason for the Wolverines to lose to IU, but those kicks loom large.

Freshman Jacob Baggett, who handles kickoffs, and former walk-on Blake Stewart will battle with Butkowski. Kerry Coombs really wanted Butkowski on this roster, but the former Pitt transfer appears to be in his head badly right now.

Baggett was a five-star kicker, per Chris Sailer Kicking, and he was recruited as the Wolverines' future kicker. His time could come a lot sooner than expected.

How to get the offensive line to have more physicality

Whittingham: "Well, another cycle of that lifting. You can't do it all in one cycle. We closed the gap and definitely made progress, but still not where we need to be.

"And it's something that Coach Harding — he's a really good offensive line coach — but it takes a little bit of time to get the full effect and full impact of a position coach. The first year is almost as much of running off what's transpired before as what's going on now. We're trying to just make that transition. It's a process and it takes some time, but we have made progress. The offensive line play, I think, has gotten better, but still not where we need to be yet. Same with a lot of positions. I'm not trying to pick on those guys."

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Our take: The offensive line has been one of the bigger disappointments this season. When Michigan brought Jim Harding over from Utah, many expected the Wolverines' offensive line to look similar to the 2021-2023 teams Michigan had. But it's hard to ignore that the Wolverines' offensive line might be on par with last season under Grant Newsome.

To be fair, Michigan has dealt with a lot of injuries on the line, and Whittingham's message week in and week out is that the Wolverines need to be more physical and get more push. But that really hasn't happened and that's a major reason the Wolverines' run game hasn't worked.

Harding should get at least one more season in Ann Arbor, barring Kyle Whittingham being one-and-done, but next season will be very telling with Harding having a full season in Ann Arbor.

Jordan Marshall's lack of production isn't due to injury

Whittingham: "Well, we're down to the last four games. I have watched the tapes last year. The first four or five games of the season, we were still trying to figure out who we were offensive-line-wise and getting our feet on the ground. I think that has a lot to do with his overall production. I can't give you a great answer on this last game why he didn't seem to be in a rhythm or in sync at all.

"But it hasn't been due to injury. He's been a little bit banged up earlier in the year. Nothing major, just some nagging things. But right now, I think he's as close to 100% as anybody can be at this time."

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Our take: Jordan Marshall ran for nearly 1,000 yards last season and that was with beginning the season as a backup to Justice Haynes, along with suffering an injury at the end of the season. We know Marshall can run the football, but there are serious issues with the Wolverines' run game in 2026.

The offensive line isn't helping, but Marshall's stat line against Rutgers wasn't exactly promising: 5 carries for 0 yards and a touchdown.

Savion Hiter turned into the bell cow in the game and both he and Bryson Kuzdzal had a few nice runs. Whittingham claims Marshall isn't suffering from a big injury, but he definitely doesn't look right out there. If Saturday was any indication, we might start to see more Hiter going forward.

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