News bullets and other items:

• Ondre Pipkins was dealing with “something” and should be back soon
• Willie Henry was dressed but didn’t play; he’s injured
• Hoke said any of the dressed QBs could have played, but read between the lines re: Morris and being injured
• Devin Gardner had a boot on his left foot after the game but said he’d be ready to go against Michigan State
• We talk about injuries a lot for not talking about injuries
• Penn State broke away from their tendencies in the first half. Hoke praised Mattison and the defensive staff for adjusting before the second half.
• Hoke again praised Matt Wile’s kicking and Devin Gardner’s leadership

Opening remarks:

“It was- obviously it’s always good to win. We’ve had some tough times and tough weeks but the resiliency of our football team, the resiliency how they go about every day in practice and the hard work that they put in paid off. It wasn’t pretty at time but I don’t know if anything’s pretty all the time and what they did, though, is they played together, they stuck together.

“We had some guys who were banged up obviously, and that’s just part of football. If you’re not banged up then you’re really not playing, but we’ve got guys who are tough. We’ve got guys who understand what it is to play as a team and play for each other and play for Michigan, and I’m excited about for them as much as anything [that] they stuck together.

“Also, the environment, the crowd; there’s no place better in this country when you have a game like this than Michigan Stadium. I can tell you our kids, they feel it. They feel it when those people are there cheering for them, and those students that were there, the former players coming back and supporting those kids; you don’t get that at a lot of institutions or maybe any institutions like you do at Michigan. Very excited for our kids. We’re going to enjoy it and then we’ll get back to work next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Could you talk about the play of the defense in the second half, and then the winning plays at the end there?

“You know, I think a couple things: Penn State had a week off and as most teams do, you have a week off [and] you start looking at tendencies. You start looking at things that maybe have patterns to [them]. The first half they broke some tendencies that they had, so I think Greg and the staff defensively did a great job at half time. I think our kids had a will, and they willed themselves to keep going and it was pressure on the quarterback with a four man, three man rush that really worked out pretty well and maximum coverage. And part of that is that he has to hold the ball a little longer, and we got off the field on third downs which in the first half we really didn’t as much.”

We all saw Devin [Gardner] pacing the sidelines and grimacing and looking like he wasn’t going to get back in. Talk about him coming back in the game and what he showed you and what he gave you.

“Well, Devin’s leadership has been outstanding, and he played a game a year ago with a broken toe for half the game so you know he’s a got a toughness to him. He is turning in, through his maturation process and everything else, into a tremendous leader. He was cheering the defense on when they were out there and he just wants to compete and play and the trainers said, ‘Yeah, he can go.’”

[More after THE JUMP]

You mentioned the environment, the defense playing well. Was tonight sort of a glimpse of what you thought this program could be or where you guys expected to be at this point?

“Yeah, I think that’s the expectations that we all have. I think there isn’t any question about it. That’s what Michigan has been about, and that’s what it’s going to continue to be about. We talked about taking them one at a time and that’s what we’re going to do and just see where this team finishes.”

How much did you guys need a night like tonight to break some of the tension from the past month?

“What was the last part?”

To break some of the tension and pressure you’ve had over the past month.

“You know, I think this: I think the way our guys have handled the last two weeks, I don’t if many football teams could do that and persevere like they have and stay together like they have and so I give those kids a lot of credit in that locker room.”

Did they need this payoff, though?

“Well, it certainly helps. There’s no question about it.”

You’ve talked a lot about forcing turnovers. Can you talk about the Jourdan Lewis play and the pressure that helped create it?

“Well, they kind of go hand in hand, as you know. I thought that number one, Jourdan has done a really fabulous job with coverage and he’s usually playing very tight coverage, but at the same time I think the pressure no doubt had something to do with it but it was also, when you watch it again, a pretty daggone athletic play by Jourdan, too.”

With all that had built up coming into this game, can you put a word to what it means when the crowd was there when there was some suggestion it wouldn’t be, and your team defense played well and Gardner played well; can you put in words what it means to you as the coach of the program to see that?

“I’m just so excited for those kids. I mean, they’re the ones who are doing the work. They’re the ones who are out there playing. They’re the ones who come to Schembechler hall every day with an attitude to play for each other. It’d be real easy not to be that way. It’d be real easy for guys to say, ‘You know, I want to go get mine’ or whatever but they haven’t done that. And we’ve held them to a pretty high standard, but they’ve held themselves to that high standard.”

How much of a role has Gardner played in all of that? The guy who’s been injured, and how is his health right now?

“Well, we’ll figure that out because we don’t talk about injuries, but we’ll figure that out. With Devin I think the growth, and I said it earlier, and the demeanor and what he has done on and off the field has been really special.”

Why didn’t Willie play today? [Willie] Henry.

“He didn’t play, but he was out there dressed and ready.”

So is that something we’re not talking about because he’s injured?

“Well, I’ll let you figure that one out.” /smiles

Without Willie, who’s arguably your best interior guy, you still had maybe the best performance the defensive line has had in quite some time. Frank [Clark], in general, what did you see?

“Well, we’ve done a pretty good job I would believe in recruiting defensive linemen. Going from a three-man front to a four-man front; Chris Wormley, Matt Godin, Tom Strobel when you look at the three-techniques that we have and the same thing inside at the nose position with Mone, who started today, Glasgow and Willie [and] Hurst and Ondre. Ondre’s fighting something but he’ll be back and he’ll be ready. I think we’re fortunate that we’ve got a lot of young guys in those classes that compete every day.”

You mentioned how this team has been resilient and stuck together these last two weeks.

“Yes.”

What is it about these guys do you think that allowed them to shut out the outside noise, and what have the last two weeks been like for them dealing with it?

“I think the guys have character. I think they’re guys who have a tremendous amount of pride in themselves and in each other as a team. I think they’re motivated. I think when we haven’t played as well as we think and know we can, I think they got ticked off and so I think ever day that they’ve gone out I think they’ve gone out to get better, push each other, compete and challenge with each other and that’s what they’ve done. I just think- from the beginning I said this team has leadership in all grades and they’ve shown that and they’ve demonstrated that.”

Without talking about injuries, is this a really good time for your crew to have a bye week?

“That’s a very good question. Yes it is. Believe me, it’s happening at a good time as far as we [can] get some rest. The guys get away from us a little bit, which is always positive and probably more positive for them than me because I worry about them, but I think it’s good that we have a chance for them to get rested up a little bit.”

Can you say how much pain Devin was in when he went back in after it looked like an ankle injury, and also he looked like he was pacing the sideline? Was he asking you to go back in?

“You know, the only time he said something to me was the series before, and he just said, ‘Coach, I’m going.’ I said, ‘Trainers say you’re okay?’ [He said,] ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Okay, go.’”

Did he express how much pain he was in?

“No. No. He doesn’t do that. I mean, most of our guys aren’t going to tell you.”

My other question: Frank Clark- obviously last week’s issue before the half and this. Was this sort of poetic for Frank to get that sack?

“Poetic.”

I know that’s not your thing.

“Right.”

/room laughs

“Now, that’s an assumption. Yeah, it was good for him to finish. Let’s put it that way.”

Can you talk about Matt Wile’s day?

“Yeah. I’ll tell you what, I think I’ve said it every time we’ve had a press conference since Notre Dame; he’s been on and he’s been hitting the ball well. Last week the field goal gets blocked but he hit it well. He’s been hitting it well. I think his confidence is where you want it to be, where he wants it to be, where we want it to be. So we’re really, really, really excited, and you forget about Scott Sypniewski, the snapper. You forget about Kenny Allen, who holds, and how much they work together every day and how successful he was and a lot of it starts there, too.”

Who were the other quarterbacks available other than Russell [Bellomy]?

“Well, whoever was dressed out was.”

So Shane [Morris] could have played?

“They were dressed out, right?”

But the question is could they have gone in the game?

“Yeah.”