The Michigan Wolverines’ football team has lost three of its last four home games to Ohio State, with 2011 being the exception of the bunch.
The Maize and Blue came close to knocking off the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor in both 2013 (a failed two-point conversion away) and 2017 (began a potential game-winning drive with just under three minutes left, but turned the ball over), but came up just short each time.
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Not many players have meant more to the program in recent years than senior left guard Ben Bredeson, who became just the 14th player in school history to be named a two-time captain when he earned the honor this past August.
“We got fired up right after the Indiana game, knowing this week was finally here,” he exclaimed this afternoon. “Home field advantage is obviously huge, because we love playing in front of our fans.
“Everything is a lot easier when the game is in Ann Arbor. I’m trying not to think about it [Saturday being his final home game] too much.
“There’s no other team I’d rather play in my last game at home.”
Many thought the Maize and Blue would knock off OSU in Columbus heading into last year’s game, before they were blown out in surprising fashion to the tune of 62-39.
The deflating loss carried over into a lifeless performance against Florida in the Peach Bowl, and seemingly into the first three games of this season as well (wins over Middle Tennessee State and Army, and a blowout loss at Wisconsin).
“We’ve closed the book on last year,” Bredeson confirmed. “Everyone knows what happened, but last season’s score won’t impact this game.
“We know what we did wrong and what we did well, and we’re looking to correct that. It has been focused on every single day.
“Everyone obviously knew when this game was coming on the schedule, and we’ve been looking forward to it since Indiana last year.
“You want to go out with a win on Senior Day and your last game at Michigan Stadium. There’s no other team I’d rather play in my last game here than Ohio State.
“We know how big this game is and what it means to us. We’ve been taking this game personally all year, and have been preparing for it since last season.
“I’m very excited to finally have that chance to go play. Absolutely, [this defines both teams' season]. This is a huge part of both our programs.
“Any time you beat Ohio State or they beat us, it’s considered a good year. There are obviously other games on the schedule, but we all know which one is the most important.”
The Wolverines have seemingly found the offensive firepower necessary to potentially beat Ohio State on Saturday, thanks to senior quarterback Shea Patterson and the club’s suddenly high-powered passing attack.
Patterson has compiled a 9-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his last two games against Michigan State and Indiana, and has averaged 375 passing yards between the two contests.
“If we keep Shea clean, he’s shown he can make plays all over the field with our receivers,” Bredeson noted. “If we get Shea hot, he’s tough to stop.
“There were glimpses of the offense clicking on all cylinders in the spring and in fall camp. There was a learning curve in there trying to transition from the practice field to games, but like we see now, we’ve finally figured out the decision making and this offense is rolling.
“We can run for 300 yards to win like we did against Notre Dame, and Shea has had career days each of the last two weeks, so this offense can do whatever we need it to do.
“There were times where everyone got a little frustrated when we weren’t seeing results, because we all knew what we could do.
“Everyone stuck together and we’re seeing the spoils of it now.”
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