The Michigan Wolverines’ football team entered last year’s game at Ohio State as a slight favorite (at least according to Vegas), but was surprisingly blown out, 62-39.
A two-game losing streak to end the year erased many of the good graces the team had built during its 10-game victorious stretch, and that subpar play seemed to carry over into 2019 and hindered the club throughout much of September.
The ship has been righted ever since, however, with the Wolverines having won seven of their last eight games and having looked good doing so.
“Last year’s game wasn’t the outcome we wanted, and our goal every year is to beat them,” junior defensive end Kwity Paye explained this evening.
“Everyone on the team knows this is the biggest game of the year. We got a shirt last year that said Co-East champions on it, and on the back Coach [Jim] Harbaugh put all the losses we had.
“That 62 was right at the top. When people wear it, we’d see that number on the back and it reminds us to this day how we aspire to be a lot better than last year.
“Once I came here and Ohio State week hit, everybody became locked in. We’re locked in all season, but it’s a different kind of locked in before facing them.
“We’re super focused and once we know they’re our next game, it turns into a different kind of effort. We had a great team last year and I feel like we have a great team this season too.
“Our offense has been clicking and getting after it, ever since that Penn State game. The offense keeps going up and up and up.”
Hailing from Providence, R.I., Paye didn’t experience the rivalry growing up like those who were raised in the Midwest did.
“During my freshman year, we were doing a walkthrough at Schem[bechler Hall] and I came in wearing a red long sleeve,” he recalled with a laugh.
“Everyone was looking at me and I didn’t know why. They made me take it off and do the walkthrough shirtless — you can’t wear red year round.
“The older guys were the ones who told me to take it off — Rashan [Gary] and Chase [Winovich].”
An Ohio State offensive line that consists of three bona fide veterans on it — junior left tackle Thayer Munford, fifth-year senior left guard Jonah Jackson and fifth-year senior right tackle Branden Bowen — will likely be the best group Michigan’s defensive line has seen all season, though not many units have been able to slow down Paye in 2019 (11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks).
“Their offensive line is pretty good and they have some good tackles,” the junior explained. “I’m confident in our guys and our rotation with [sophomore defensive end] Aidan [Hutchinson], [senior defensive tackle] Carlo [Kemp], [redshirt junior defensive tackle Mike Dwumfour] Dwumy and [freshman defensive tackle] Chris Hinton.
“We have a good chance to crush their QB and give our DBs a chance to play their game.”
Notes
• Longtime Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison departed Ann Arbor for Ohio State following last season, and none of the Wolverines players or coaches took too kindly to it.
“It touched us a bit,” Paye admitted. “Business is business, and we have to take care of business.”
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