Everything Evan Link and Enow Etta said after Michigan’s loss to Iowa

Michigan offensive lineman Evan Link and defensive lineman Enow Etta met with the media following the Wolverines’ loss to Iowa at Michigan Stadium.

Link discussed Michigan’s inability to finish offensive drives, penalties, Blake Frazier playing through an injury, and another missed opportunity to close out a game with the offense on the field. Etta addressed the defense’s final drive, Michigan’s continued struggle to create takeaways, discipline, and how the Wolverines respond to a difficult loss.

Here is everything Link and Etta said after the game.

Enow Etta

Responding to loss

We just got to get back to the drawing board because Whitt always says do more. So whatever we did this week, obviously it wasn’t good enough. Monday, we’ve got to come back, put our heads down and just work on going 1-0 next week. The good things that we did, we’ve got to continue to build on that. And the negatives that we had, we’ve got to keep finding ways to cut it out so we can keep building as a team and push forward. We still got this whole season ahead of us, so we just got to keep pushing forward.

Defensive execution

I just think we’ve got to execute on all facets. Credit to Iowa, but I think we did a good job stopping the run. We just got to — that last drive, we just got to play smart and execute on all facets. Like I said, what we were doing wasn’t good enough, no matter what the stats say. So we just got to come back and build on it.

Final defensive call

I can’t speak on that. I’m not a DC.

Creating takeaways

Yeah, I mean, since Week 1, coaches have been preaching to us and we’ve been preaching to each other, like, we’ve got to get the ball. Punch-outs, turnovers, interceptions, whatever. We’ve got to score on defense like we have sometimes the last few years. So, yeah, we just got to continue to emphasize that. Whatever we’ve got to do, we’ve got to do it better. We need to get the ball back to the offense in critical situations, put them in a good position.

Iowa’s final drive

Yeah, I mean, I’ve got to say credit to them. They did a good job. We just got to execute. We just got to continue to execute. We can’t let them push that far. They did a great job, and we just got to combat that and be better.

Keeping level heads

Yeah, we just got to be on the same page. We just got to all be on the same page, and we just got to keep a level head. When bullets are flying, we’ve all got to stay calm, cool and collected. So we just got to overemphasize that the rest of the season, because obviously what we haven’t been doing is not enough. We’ve got to continue to play together as a team and stay level-headed no matter what point the game is at.

Locker-room mood

Yeah, I mean, it just didn’t go in our favor. It’s definitely a punch in the gut. But in the locker room, it was the same feeling of we just got to work. It’s over. We can’t change it. But we can change the future by how we work hard this week. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to come together. We’ve got how many games ahead of us. It happened. We just got to build. We just got to build on it and figure out how we let something like this not happen again. So we just got to hit it Sunday, Monday, the rest of the week and work until next week, go 1-0 next week.

Playing on road

Yeah, I mean, it’s a game. So the same thing we’ve got to do at home, we’ve got to do away. We’ve got to punch people in the mouth and execute, home or away. So I think it’s less about the game and more about us, how we’re going to respond to this. Home or away, we’ve got to respond. We’ve got to work this week harder than we ever have because what we did last week wasn’t good enough. So, yeah, home or away, we’ve just got to put our head down and execute.

Deflected passes

I mean, yeah, it was just like, wow. You don’t really see that. I guess you could call it unlucky. But we have a saying as a defense: tips and overthrows, got to get those. So when the ball’s in the air, we either got to catch it or swat it down or do something. We can’t let them catch that. We’ve got to go up there and get it. So we’re just going to have to execute on that because we can’t just let them get it when it’s in the air. We just got to continue working.

Evan Link

Finishing drives

I mean, at least on our side of the ball, right? We drove the ball well. We had more offensive yards than them, but we couldn’t finish in the end zone. We’d have a penalty, we’d have a holding or something that would get us back into first-and-20, and we couldn’t score. We didn’t get points from those drives. So I think, on our side of the ball at least, we’ve got to finish those drives better, and that’s what I think lost us this game today. We’ve got to get points when we get in the end zone — the red zone, excuse me. That’s something we’ve got to continue to get better at.

Blake Frazier injury

Yeah, no, Blake’s a really tough guy, right? I think nothing would have kept him out of this game. Whatever happened to him, I’ll find out tomorrow, and I’m sure he’s going to do whatever he can to be out there next Saturday as well. The kid’s a really, really tough guy, and I know he’s going to do everything he can to play.

Offensive penalties

I mean, I think, at least on our side of the ball, penalties are going to happen, right? You’re going to get a hold here and there because you don’t know where the ball carrier is going. But I think sometimes the emotion takes control, and you can’t really let that happen. You’ve got to play cool, calm and collected, especially with some of these illegal formation penalties. We’ve had a few of these throughout the season. I know our offense, we have a lot of interesting formations, but I think we just need to put a little bit more emphasis on the details of, hey, where do I line up, instead of thinking about what I’ve got to do on that play. I think a lot of the issues today just come down to focusing on the fundamentals. We’ve got to have good effort, we’ve got to have physicality and we’ve got to be disciplined. I think all those things will help reduce penalties.

Road-game response

I mean, at least for me, home or away, we’ve got to do the same things. At least it’s a chance. It’s another game to play. It’s another chance to go out there and get better as a team and continue to work on the things we want to work on. So, for me at least, I don’t really pay any particular attention to it being an away game.

Closing out games

Yeah, I mean, I hate when that happens, right? We always want to finish the game with the ball in our hands, keep our defense off the field and not put them in that position. So, in both those situations, I don’t want to say it’s heartbreaking, but it’s not what you want. I think, like I said, we really just need to focus on execution in those situations, those critical situations, because we can drive the ball. We proved that today. But what does it matter if we couldn’t because maybe somebody’s in their head thinking, I’ve got to do something different this play or something’s got to be different? It really just comes down to, like I’ve been saying, the details. The fundamental work that we work every week has to be better, and it has to remain constant throughout a game to finish those situations the way we want.