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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was certainly a change in perspective from what we’ve heard from Jim Harbaugh before when it comes to the Michigan – Ohio State rivalry.
Since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor, he’s always had a narrow focus, taking things game-by-game. So when he said this to Brad Galli on Monday, it came as something of a surprise:
“(I’ve focused on Ohio State) on a weekly basis,” Harbaugh said. “Heckuva good football team in all areas. Defensively one of the best in the country, if not the best. Offensively, same can be said. They do a heckuva job in the kicking games as well.
“It’s a formidable opponent, and we’re very excited about it. Preparation has been underway for awhile now, and looking forward to practicing it this week and playing it on Saturday.”
That mentality has spilled over to the players, as well.
Yes, the team motto for the year is ‘brick-by-brick,’ meaning that it had to take everything moment-by-moment, building to this point. But the reason for that?
To beat Ohio State.
“We’ve focused on it every single day,” senior left guard and team captain Ben Bredeson said. “Always knowing — obviously we all know when this game is coming on the schedule. We were looking forward to this from the end of last year. Obviously, going into Senior Day, talking to all the other seniors, your last game at Michigan Stadium, you want to go out with a win.
“There’s no other team we’d rather play the last game here than Ohio State.”
Of course, a 62-39 shellacking in Columbus when you were the ones favored to win will come with some type of consequence from a motivational standpoint.
Wideout Nico Collins was one of the line bright spots in The Game a year ago, reeling in 4 pass receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.
It clearly wasn’t enough. Like the rest of the team, he and his compatriots have a sour taste in their mouths, and they’re determined to rid themselves of it come Saturday.
Thus, the enhanced focus on the rival.
“Last year didn’t end well, like we wanted it to,” Collins said. “Ever since that loss — we don’t want to have that feeling again. The Game — throughout the offseason, our main focus is to not have that feeling again. We take it very personal throughout this whole building. It’s that week.”
When it comes to this rivalry, Ohio State has some pretty intense motivational tactics themselves. Beyond practice, though, the team and the fanbase take it a step further, crossing out all the letter Ms on campus, in tweets — wherever it’s available.
Naturally, they miss a few, but it’s part of what takes place once rivalry week arrives down south.
Up north, however, Michigan doesn’t feel the need to engage in any extra tactics. Instead, it uses that energy to build from within, rather than to attempt to tear down.
“We just focus on ourselves,” Bredeson said. “We know how big this game is. We know what it means to us. Really, we’ve been taking this game personally all year. We’ve been preparing for it since last year. Just very excited to finally have that chance to go play.”
We’ll know on Saturday at noon EST if the Wolverines method works or not. They’ve had a year to stew on the 2018 results, but face a potentially tougher challenge, as Ohio State comes in as perhaps the best team in the country.
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