Two Michigan Wolverines captains joined Jon Jansen on the "In The Trenches" podcast today ahead of the Ohio State game. Senior left guard Ben Bredeson and senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp both discussed the season up to this point and what it would mean to end on a high-note with a win over their arch rival.
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Ben Bredeson On The Offense And Ohio State Game
U-M disposed of Indiana last week, 39-14, in what some would have considered a trap game, with it being sandwiched between two rivalry games in Michigan State and Ohio State.
"I think from the outside, the general fan would think that’s tough," Bredeson said. "The mark of a great team is being able to focus in on every matchup every week. I think we proved that when we were able to focus on Michigan State the week before and then focus on Indiana, and not get ahead of ourselves and take care of business and do the things we needed to get done to set up this great matchup."
Bredeson says the offense has shown that it can have multiple identities.
"I think that’s the beauty of what Coach Gattis is doing here, is [our identity] can be whatever we need it to be depending on the hot hand of the day. Obviously, against Notre Dame, the conditions were perfect for a run game and not ideal for receivers.
"I think we’re able to run the ball for 300 yards if we need to, and if defenses want to give us throws and the RPOs, we’ll gladly take those. We had one of those against Indiana for Nico Collins’ 76-yard touchdown. It’s the beauty of that offense is being able to take whatever the defense is giving you.
"As a lineman, there’s nothing better than a big play, especially a long touchdown so you can get off the field real quick. Having that threat, it’s ideal for us. We love it because if we want to pound the ball, we can. We can get five or six yards per carry and we can slowly take them down the field and score, or we can suck them in and go deep on them with our receiving corps and I think we definitely proved that last game. Nico had a career day and Shea was going off as he has been for the last few weeks. Just having those different aspect of being able to attack the defense, it takes away their pass rush having the RPO run game and it’s just beneficial all the way around."
It took a time for the offense to click in game situations, Bredeson admitted.
"I thought we had that going on in the spring," he explained. "But, obviously running an offense in practice is a lot different than running an offense in games. There were some growing pains early on, as we saw. It’s a different speed in a game than it is in practice, and I think making those quick decisions in game speed just took a little bit of adjusting, but once we took care of that, this offense has been rolling ever since."
In Bredeson's three games against Ohio State, U-M has fallen short each time. He was asked how much those games are in his head as the game approaches once again.
"I’ve had the pleasure of playing in three of these," Bredeson said. "Playing in this game three different times makes you appreciate the rivalry and respect the rivalry. It forces you to learn what it takes to win the game and how to prepare for it and what this game means. I absolutely know what it takes and what it means to everybody, and this is my favorite game of the year to play in. I always said I love the rivalry games, I love the big games and it doesn’t really get any bigger than this."
Ohio State touts the country's top defense. Bredeson gave a breakdown of what he sees from the Buckeyes that makes them so much of a challenge, and why the Wolverines may just be up for that challenge.
"They’ve got some great pass rushers; they’ve got a good defense against the run," he said. "The benefit that we’ve had now is that we’ve been challenged all year. We’ve had to fight through adversity and find a way. I think that’s going to be to our benefit in the game come Saturday. They’ve got a great unit there, but across the ball, we have a great unit on our end, as well. It’s going to be a very interesting matchup, a very exciting matchup — their d-line vs. our o-line. It’s probably the biggest matchup I’m looking forward to all year.
Preparing for Ohio State year-round isn't just a cliche, Bredeson says it's real, and it helps the Wolverines this week in being centered mentally.
"We prepare for this game a year in advance and there’s some times where you get close to the game and everyone gets a little too jumpy," Bredeson said. "They press too hard. It’s best to just remember that we’ve done our work, this is basically the final touches going into it and everyone just needs to stay focused. There’s a happy medium in between being too calm and too tight. I think you just need to stay in that range as much as possible.
This will be Bredeson's final time playing at Michigan Stadium. He was asked about the emotions of touching the banner one last time.
"I can still clearly remember my first one against Hawai’i [in 2016]," Bredeson recalled. "Coming down the tunnel, I was about halfway through and the stadium looks big when it’s empty, but when it fills up, it looks like it’s double in size. When you’re coming down, you just keep coming down the tunnel and the stadium is still going, still going. I just remember coming down and thinking, ‘This is the greatest thing of my life.’ I can tell you everything about that day, and it was four years ago.
"Now, here we are days away from doing it for the last time. It’s a little surreal. You always knew the day was coming, but you’re never really ready for it when it does. Just enjoying it and trying to go out on top."
Carlo Kemp On The Season And Looking Forward To Ohio State
This season has been a year of ups and downs for U-M, with both big losses and some triumphant victories.
"It’s been a lot of trials and a lot of learning," Kemp told Jansen. "It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had our moments where we’ve been going up, and then we’ve had some setbacks.
"The greatest thing in putting the whole season in perspective, is how we’ve responded. We’ve been down or we’ve been up, but what’s been our reaction? How have we overcome things that we’ve been down before. I remember talking before and you asked me what the identity of the team would be. We had lost a game and just how to respond. I think we did so, and now it’s just time to keep that upward momentum, aiming for that hilltop."
U-M is on four-game win streak. The Wolverines have been playing their best football at the end of the season. Kemp says that's exactly how it's drawn up.
"That’s always the goal," he said. "You always want to be playing your best football at the end of the year, and that’s how we’ve been trying to move. The thing we talk about on defense a lot is not being complacent. We don’t want to be satisfied with anything that has happened in the past. We gave up two touchdowns last game. 14 points. But, we’re not okay with that. It’s learning from that and how we are going to get those mistakes erased going into this final game."
The matchup with Ohio State that it consumes the entire week for Kemp and his teammates.
"It’s that game," Kemp said bluntly. "It’s that week. There’s really nothing else on your mind, honestly, until Saturday at noon comes. You don’t really focus too much on anything else, other than film study, preparation, game plan and then executing that in practice and building upon that, stacking good practices because you’re going to need your best play come Saturday.
"I’ve been looking forward to this game since January this year. Just because the way the season ended last year, and it’s something you think about the entire year. You got this game kind of replaying in your head, and you remember what happened last year at their place. It’s that motivation and that recurring film that you watch in your head as you’re training in January, during winter workouts, during spring ball. Then, you’re going through it again in summer workouts and summer camp.
"It’s on your mind the entire year. Obviously, if there’s one game I’ve been looking forward to or if there’s one game that I knew the date was going to come, it’s this game."
Kemp described what a win over Ohio State would mean for the U-M team.
"It would be special," he said. "You think about all the players that have played and represented Michigan on this side. That’s something that I’ve always been thinking about, ever since I came here, was being a part of ‘The Game.’ You could say it's the greatest rivalry in all of sports. You think about the tradition and the history and being able to represent Michigan in this game and to get a win for Michigan, it would feel historic. Being able to put down the 2019 season in history with a win, it would be monumental."
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