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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan already has some experience this season when it comes to dealing with the elements, but on Saturday, it’ll be a different type of game that the Wolverines are dealing with.
Three weeks ago, against Notre Dame, it was a veritable deluge, a monsoon that soaked the field at Michigan Stadium for a solid two-plus quarters, and the maize and blue seemed to relish the opportunity. Despite the offense’s seeming inability to run the ball at will, it did just that, en route to a 45-14 win over the rival Fighting Irish.
With that particular situation, the team embraced the situation. But this weekend, when Michigan hosts another rival in MSU, it’ll be another entirely, as the forecast currently calls for it to be sunny with a potential high of 31-degrees Fahrenheit in Ann Arbor, with lows around 16-degrees.
But, given what the maize and blue have played in already, the team is ready for it, and it’s a credit to the demeanor of the head coach, special teams and safeties coach Chris Partridge says.
“Coach does a really good job of going in and out and going outside,” Partridge said. “It was great yesterday, I don’t think it sucks. I mean, we’re in Michigan, we’re not gonna say, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be warm!’ We’re gonna go out and we’re gonna deal with it. I think that’s important for the players, too. It’s like, ‘Okay, well, it’s cold out. So, we’re gonna stay inside the whole time?’ No, we play in Michigan. This is what it is, so go out there and enjoy it.
“I didn’t hear one complaint, I didn’t hear anything. We were in and out and we rolled and that’s it. Probably could have dressed myself a little warmer!”
The early November blizzard seems to have come and gone, with Monday being Southeast Michigan’s day of reckoning on that front. But with it being likely clear of precipitation, the staff isn’t making any special preparations for the potential cold.
“I don’t think cold weather factors much into a game plan,” quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels said. “The precipitation does, the rain certainly did a couple weeks ago – there’s no doubt about that. Snow is less of a factor than rain typically is, in my opinion. You just try to pay attention to the forecast, you hope that they’re right as you’re building your plan through the week. If they’re wrong, you adjust as late as you have to adjust. That’s what we get paid to do.”
With the way the Wolverines played against Notre Dame, some would argue that perhaps inclement weather could be a good thing for this Michigan team.
So why was it such a successful outing in what were certainly terrible conditions?
Like Coach Harbaugh, Partridge says, the team barely acknowledged the monsoon as it was happening. Instead, it just focused on what it could control and went from there.
“We just embrace it – they’re gonna follow our lead,” Partridge said. “I said to (Coach Harbaugh after Notre Dame), ‘That’s the best we ever –’ I actually said it to someone before the game, when we came off the field: ‘That’s our best warmup I’ve ever seen.’ They went out there and literally didn’t notice the cold, the rain, nothing. They just warmed up like it was nothing. And it’s probably because we just embraced it, like, ‘Oh, it’s raining out.’ What are we just gonna stay inside all day? No! Go out there and throw the ball around. Go back inside, don’t talk about it, don’t complain about it – just go.
“I think that’s a big factor and that’s really Jim’s personality. He can walk outside and everyone else will be like, ‘Damn, it’s pouring out!’ and he’s coaching his butt off, not even noticing it’s raining. You’re like, ‘Does this guy even know it’s raining and freezing?!’ But the team gains that personality of who coaches it, that’s who they become. So we went out at Notre Dame and I don’t even know if anybody noticed it was raining.
“Besides me – special teams, it’s windy, it’s raining. I never used to have to care about this stuff!”
“I just thought our guys were excited for the game,” McDaniels added. “I thought they were excited for the environment. I thought it showed. I don’t know if any of us cared what the weather was or how bad the rain was. We were excited for that game, and I think that showed, too.”
So, at the moment, the team can expect to be dry on Saturday, but the cold is a different story.
While the team will adjust to the weather accordingly, the primary focus is multiple, but the same as it’s always been: execute the game plan while taking care of the football.
“My experience is cold is cold,” McDaniels said. “It’s gotta get pretty darn cold to factor in, in my opinion. Some guys wear gloves, some guys don’t. That’s a topic of discussion for quarterbacks. My experience coaching guys and some playing experience, once you get running around, you get pretty comfortable and used to the environment. Those frigid, frigid temperatures might affect, at some point, your ability to hold the ball. The feel of the ball is different once it gets colder-colder. But we should be in great shape for this weekend.”
Michigan and Michigan State will kickoff at noon EST on Saturday at The Big House with the game nationally televised on FOX.
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