Tag: Ben Bredeson

Michigan looking to avoid longest losing streak ever against Ohio State

Michigan football is on a seven-game losing streak against Ohio State, and another loss would make it the longest ever. Will they stop it?

[jwplayer nrjZh9M5-XNcErKyb]

The greatest rivalry in college football and possibly all of the major sports, is upon us once again this week. Michigan vs. Ohio State. The rivalry hasn’t been in favor of the Wolverines lately as they are currently on a seven-game losing streak to the Buckeyes. While it’s technically the longest streak ever, Michigan has been on a seven-game skid against the Buckeyes once before.

From 2004-2010 Michigan lost to Ohio State, but the 2010 loss was vacated from the Buckeyes, so that streak is technically at six. Michigan broke the streak in 2011, and once again the Buckeyes have been in control. So within the past 15 years, Michigan has only beaten Ohio State just once.

Michigan doesn’t want Ohio State to continue that streak and make it the longest in school history against the Wolverines. Michigan needs this win and has needed it for years. Michigan hasn’t won back-to-back games against Ohio State since 1999-2000 when they won two in a row.

Michigan guard Ben Bredeson spoke about the Buckeyes and that what happened years ago isn’t something that the Wolverines look at today.

“If you’re going into this game thinking you’re going to lose, there’s no worth going out there,” Bredeson said. “We don’t look at years past, we just focus on the year. Like the way we match up, I have faith in my team. Looking forward to (going up against OSU) on Saturday.”

Suffering another loss to Ohio State isn’t what anyone wants, and giving them even more ammo is even worse. Ending the streak would be huge, not only for the team and head coach Jim Harbaugh, but for the program, the university, and the entire state itself.

When one door closes, another one opens. If Michigan is able to shut the door on the recent dominance by Ohio State, they could open up a new door of profound success in their future.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]

Michigan players on last season’s loss to Ohio State: “We know what happened”

Michigan Football linebacker Khaleke Hudson and guard Ben Bredeson spoke about what happened last year against Ohio State.

[jwplayer G7SX2Ira-XNcErKyb]

In what was a shocker to not only the players and the coaching staff but the fans of both teams, last year Ohio State beat Michigan 62-39. It was a battle of two top 10 teams with the winner going to play in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern and it ended up being a blowout in favor of Ohio State.

The win was the biggest by the Buckeyes since 2015, the first year Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took on the Buckeyes, where they won 42-13. It wasn’t the fact that Ohio State won by so much, but the fact that they were able to score as many points as they did, and against the best defense in the country at the time.

Michigan just didn’t have an answer to it as it was the biggest loss defensive coordinator Don Brown ever had against Ohio State. That wasn’t his worst loss ever at Michigan though. That was in 2017 when Michigan lost 42-13 against Penn State. He got his revenge from that loss last season, beating Penn State 42-7. 2019 is his chance to get it against Ohio State.

Brown will be certainly ready to get his guys in shape for this year’s game, and the players haven’t let the results from last year’s game change what will happen this year against Ohio State.

“We closed the book on last year,” Michigan captain and starting guard Ben Bredeson said. “We know what happened, they know what happened. Last year’s score won’t affect the game at all. We know what it takes — we know what we did wrong, we know what we did well. We’re just looking to correct that.”

While the players can look past what happened last season, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it as a learning tool to get better and help them out this season.

“It fuels us,” Hudson said. “We know what happened last year, we know what we did that we messed up on and what we’re gonna do this year to fix the problems. The score last year is what it is, can’t nothing change it. All you can do is focus on this year’s game. We control our own destiny, how the game will go.”

While revenge might not be the main point of this year’s game between the team, Brown and his players will be looking to dish up a huge upset to the Buckeyes. Nobody on the team has ever beaten Ohio State, no Wolverine has since 2011 and this year would be a perfect chance for Michigan to send a surprise to the Buckeyes.

What better way to avenge a 62-39 loss from last season, then to give Ohio State their first loss this season, big or small, and end the eight-year drought that has been felt in Schembechler Hall

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]

Although confident in stalling him, Michigan on high-alert for Chase Young

The Wolverines describe the challenge of stopping or stalling the talented Buckeyes defensive end.

[jwplayer NG64abf5-XNcErKyb]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  While most of the talk heading into Michigan’s game on Saturday hosting arch-rival Ohio State seems to be focused on either stalling the vaunted Buckeyes offensive attack or just how high-flying the Wolverines have suddenly become on offense themselves, there’s one big factor that could impede the ability of the latter.

Chase Young.

The OSU star defensive end has been an absolute force this year, with 19.5 tackles for loss and an astounding 16.5 sacks — and he missed two games due to suspension. Young leads the nation in sacks and is third in TFLs, and it’ll be incumbent upon Michigan’s offensive line to keep him at bay if the maize and blue want to have a chance in The Game.

Which is easier said than done, given that he creates havoc, averaging 1.83 sacks-per-game.

“He’s a tremendous football player, extremely athletic,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Very physical. Shows up at the ball. He’s a tremendous pass rusher.”

Michigan State is the only team that’s seemingly kept him out of the backfield, as Young only had a half a sack and one tackle for loss in that game. Otherwise, he’s gotten at least 1-and-1, respectively.

While Michigan left guard Ben Bredeson won’t likely be tasked much with young being on the OL interior — lest Young come in on a stunt — he’s aware of the challenge his unit is about to face on that front,

Nonetheless, he’s relying on the coaching staff’s ability to scheme around him and finding different ways to stall him out.

“He’s a special player, he’s got a lot of talent,” Bredeson said. “We’ve played a lot of players, a lot of teams who have special players like that. There’s different ways to attack him, attack the defensive front. I know we’re going to have a good scheme for him and for that defensive front in general.”

But it won’t just be on the offensive line.

The tight ends will be just as crucial, as could the running backs. That’s why Nick Eubanks — who’s taken it upon himself this offseason to improve greatly in pass protection — is on high alert.

Still — he’s confident that Michigan will get the job done on that front.

“It’ll be very important,” Eubanks said. “That’s one thing we’ll probably emphasize on this week in terms of preparing for this ball game. We’ll try — as a matter of fact, we’ll do instead of trying — try to prevent him from getting into the backfield.”

Will Michigan succeed in keeping Young from getting to Shea Patterson? We’ll know more on Saturday, when the Wolverines host the Buckeyes at The Big House. Kickoff is slated for noon EST.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]

Ben Bredeson shares what he likes most about the Michigan – MSU rivalry

Michigan senior offensive lineman Ben Bredeson discusses the importance of winning the line of scrimmage against Michigan State.

[jwplayer wzzdpFiU-XNcErKyb]

Michigan senior captain Ben Bredeson gave his take on the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry on Monday, and it wasn’t all that surprising coming from an offensive lineman.

The senior pointed to the battle in the trenches as the most important aspect of the game heading into Saturday’s matchup of the heated rivals.

“I think when you get in the offensive and defensive line in this rivalry, that’s really what epitomizes it,” Bredeson said. “Our defensive line against their O-line, vice versa. That’s my favorite part of the game, watching that matchup.”

Bredeson may be on to something, too.

While the forward pass may be taking over modern day football, rushing yards are often still the measuring stick on which team is controlling the line of scrimmage. That’s especially evident when the Wolverines and Spartans line up against one another.

Looking back at just the past 20 meetings between the two programs, the team that finished the game with more rushing yards has won 16 out of 20 games during that stretch.

If that trend continues on Saturday, the Wolverines offense has a slight edge. Michigan is 58th in the country averaging 170.7 rush yards per game, and their 4.2 yards per carry ranks tied for 77th. Conversely, Michigan State is averaging just 130.9 rush yards per game, ranking them near the bottom in the nation (106th). The Spartans also ranked tied for 95th in yards per carry (3.8).

Defensively, both teams have been stout against the run this season. The Wolverines are allowing 112.7 yards per game on the ground (21st), but only 2.9 yards per carry (T-9th). Michigan State allows 108.1 rush yards per game (16th), and 3.1 yards per carry (T-14th).

Michigan has a seemingly wide edge on the offensive line, with Bredeson, Jon Runyan Jr., Cesar Ruiz and Mike Onwenu each having started for two seasons beside one another. The Spartans, meanwhile, have shifted their offensive line personnel, and mixed in a couple freshmen on Saturday against Illinois.

However, both defensive fronts have been stout all season, and MSU’s front has Bredeson’s attention heading into Saturday.

“That entire defensive line of theirs is outstanding,” Bredeson said. “They’ve got great defensive front. Like I said before, when you play them enough times, you at each other enough times, we’ve always had a mutual respect there.”

A four-year starter, this is the senior’s fourth time playing in this rivalry game, and it’s one he said he had circled on his calendar each season.

“It’s one of my favorite games to play in every year,” Bredeson said. “I love the rivalry games, the big games. That’s what you play college football for. We’ve had some good games here in the last three years, some memorable ones for sure, and I’m looking forward to another one this Saturday.

“Owning the state of Michigan is always a big thing for the two programs. You battle for it every single year. Obviously, there’s the Paul Bunyan Trophy involved in it as well. There’s a lot of pride that goes into it for the fanbases, so it’s a cool rivalry just because you have that in-state factor of it and you get bragging rights for the year.”

In a rivalry game, it’s expected that emotions will run hot and tempers may flare at times, but Bredeson downplayed that on Monday, speaking instead of the respect he has for Michigan State’s defensive linemen after having facing them so many times.

“It’s definitely more emotional,” he said. “You just want to keep your head with it, keep your composure and don’t make any mistakes that can give them an edge in the game.

“I think there’s an extra intensity in the game, definitely. Everybody wants to make the tackle a little harder, block a little harder, things like that. I don’t think there’s too many cheap shots going on in the game.”

The Spartans have been eliminated from contention for a Big Ten title, and Michigan’s hopes for a conference championship look bleak as well. With that primary goal likely out the window for both teams, rivalry games like this take on an added importance as secondary goals for both programs.

Bredeson is eager to get on the field to try to put a checkmark next to the goal that reads, “Beat MSU”.

“Senior year, beating Michigan State at home, that’s a pretty good win in the senior campaign,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to doing that. That’d be an awesome win.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]