Tag: Carlo Kemp

Don Brown: Michigan veterans, young and old, stepping into leadership roles

There’s a fringe benefit to the pandemic, in that the Wolverines are finding more leadership from players younger and older.

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Things have been different across the country beyond as far as college football is concerned. But the college game was just starting to ramp up for spring ball as the coronavirus pandemic hit, which changed the game considerably.

Instead of players getting their chance as returning starters, new starters or vying for a bigger role than they had previously, they were relegated to their homes. Meetings moved from the Schembechler Hall meeting rooms and the field at the Al Glick Fieldhouse, everything has taken place this spring in the confines of players’ own homes. So there’s been something of an adjustment.

However, it’s not all negative.

Don Brown discussed the adjustments with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast released on Tuesday, and noted that given that the system has remained mostly the same, it’s allowed with a strong level of familiarity. Thus, as they’ve made their usual set of changes that comes with every offseason, the younger players have benefitted from the tutelage of the upperclassmen.

There’s a reason why this is a great situation for Michigan right now.

“I also think another feature for us, and I’m certainly telling our guys, is we’ve been in this system for four years and obviously we’re tweaking it every year to a certain degree,” Brown said. “But at least in the commonality, our guys really know it. More importantly, our upperclassmen know it like the back of their hand so they’re able to work with the young guys and teach them the concepts. Because obviously, the best leadership comes from within.”

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So who’s been stepping up as leaders?

Most of the names aren’t particularly surprising. Of course, Carlo Kemp is one of them, given that he was a team captain a year ago. But it’s not just the fifth-year types or the seniors who are taking the mantle.

Brown notes a couple of younger players who have also worked to help the younger players along.

“The nice thing is you don’t have to lean on (the upperclassmen),” Brown said. “That’s happening on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis. You mention Kwity, you mention Carlo – Aidan Hutchinson is another guy that comes to mind up front. We have Josh Ross, but we also have a veteran in Cam McGrone now who knows the concepts well. So that’s a big help.

“And then on the back end, Ambry Thomas, who’s just such a solid leader. Brad Hawkins. Daxton Hill a year older. Vincent Gray a year older. We feel like we can hit the ground running as long as our conditioning allows us to.”

This offseason, as mentioned by Josh Gattis to Jon Jansen, Michigan also brought in a Navy SEAL captain who’s worked with the team to help enhance their leadership capabilities.

As Brown said, ‘the best leadership comes from within.’ Despite ‘leaders and best’ being in the fight song, a renewed energy as such might be the one thing that Michigan had been missing.

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Jim Harbaugh confirms Carlo Kemp awarded fifth-year

The Wolverines are getting back one of their star players in 2020.

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When Michigan’s Carlo Kemp made his Wolverines debut in 2016, it seemed like odd-timing.

Midway through the season, Kemp saw his first playing time, but given NCAA rules at the time, it meant that his redshirt was then gone with his inclusion on the field. From there, Kemp switched from linebacker to defensive end and then to defensive tackle, becoming a starter in the process. He was voted team captain prior to the 2019 season, which had looked to be his last.

Or was it?

Earlier this week, The Wolverine Lounge’s Brandon Justice reported that Kemp was likely to return for a fifth-year, and it turns out his sources were prescient. Speaking to reporters at a coaching clinic in Lansing on Thursday night, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Kemp was granted a waiver by the NCAA and that he is now eligible to play a fifth-year in Ann Arbor.

From MLive’s Aaron McMann:

“Yeah, that’s official,” Harbaugh told reporters at the Lansing Center, after speaking at the Michigan High School Football Coach Association clinic. “He got a fifth year.”

With fellow defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour announcing earlier this week that he’s in the NCAA transfer portal, that means three-of-four defensive line starters are returning in 2020.

To fill Dwumfour’s role, Michigan will turn to Donovan Jeter, Chris Hinton, Mazi Smith and Jess Speight to battle for that vacant starting position.

Report: Two Wolverines to return for fifth years in 2020

According to The Wolverine Lounge’s Brandon Justice, two key players will come back to Ann Arbor in 2020.

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Michigan got some big news on Tuesday with ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reporting that Rutgers filled its defensive coordinator position, thus signaling that linebackers coach Anthony Campanile is likely to return to Ann Arbor for a second season.

But, what about the personnel themselves?

According to The Wolverine Lounge‘s Brandon Justice, it looks like Michigan could be retaining two fifth-year players in 2020, and both are incredibly important to the success of their respective units.

First reported is kicker Quinn Nordin, the big-legged place kicker who booted the go-ahead score just before halftime against Alabama. With second-year kicker Jake Moody chomping at his heels all season, Justice reports that Nordin is going to finish out his intercollegiate eligibility in Ann Arbor, despite getting a solid NFL Draft grade.

Perhaps even more importantly, however, given the (lack of) depth on the interior defensive line, Justice reports that senior defensive tackle and team captain Carlo Kemp will also be returning, per his sources.

In order for Kemp to return, he would have to have an NCAA waiver, as he played in one game in his true freshman season, a mid-season romp over Rutgers in 2016. Given that NCAA rules at that time stated that a redshirt could only be received so long that a player did not participate in any games outside of the first four, Justice indicates that Kemp has gotten said waiver.

Kemp played in 12 games in 2019, but was unable to perform in the VRBO Citrus Bowl to finish out the season, despite dressing for the game and practicing all week. His return bolsters a thin unit, that hasn’t brought in many interior defensive line players as of late, and had former walk-on Jess Speight starting in his place against Alabama. In 2020, Michigan will then have Kemp, Speight, Michael Dwumfour and second-year players Chris Hinton and Mazi Smith available in the middle.

Michigan seniors ready to touch the banner one last time

Michigan seniors Shea Patterson, Ben Bredeson, Khaleke Hudson and Carlo Kemp discuss their final game at the Big House.

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The pageantry of college football is one of the things that makes it special. Every program is unique in its pregame traditions and rituals.

At Oklahoma, they ride the Sooner Schooner. At Colorado, they run with Ralphie. At Ohio State, they dot the I.

And at Michigan, they touch the ‘M Go Blue’ banner.

This Saturday, before the Wolverines battle the Buckeyes in the season-finale, Michigan’s seniors will slap the banner for the final time in their careers.

“I’m trying not to think about it much,” offensive guard Ben Bredeson said. “I’m just going to enjoy every second of it. There’s no other team I’d rather play my last game at home.”

Bredeson’s sentiment – that there was no other opponent than Ohio State that he’d rather compete against in his final home game – was shared by many of his fellow seniors.

“It’s a dream come true,” quarterback Shea Patterson said. “There’s no better way to go out than with a great team like Ohio State coming in. They’re the No. 1 team in the country. It’s gonna be an incredible challenge and it’s one we’re looking forward to.”

Bredeson and Patterson each had decisions to make after last season’s 10-3 finish. Both were eligible to enter the NFL Draft, yet both chose to participate in their senior season of college football. At least for Patterson, last year’s defeat that the hands of Ohio State played a part in the decision.

“It was a huge part of it,” Patterson said. “I love playing for this team, I love playing for these coaches. I love my teammates and this university. Not only myself, but there’s countless seniors in this class that have lived the whole 365 to play in this game. We’ll be ready for it.”

The quarterback has the opportunity to even up his record against the Buckeyes to 1-1. The fourth- or fifth-year seniors don’t have that luxury this Saturday, having already lost all of their previous matchups with Ohio State, but they still have this final chance to avoid going winless in The Game.

“It’s super important because it’s your last game with all your brothers in this rivalry,” defensivetackle Carlo Kemp said. “It’s something that you talk about. You talk about this game when you’re a freshman. You watch the seniors play in this game when you’re younger, and you get to learn that history and be a part of it. It’s just something special.

“Knowing we get this opportunity one last time at home, it’s a huge honor.”

Perhaps no senior, or player for that matter, on Michigan’s roster is more ready for the final shot at the Buckeyes than linebacker Khaleke Hudson.

“It’s very important — just like every other game is very important,” Hudson said. “We’re just gonna do everything we can to prepare ourselves, the way we go into that game on Saturday with utmost confidence, just knowing that you’ve got your brothers’ back, your coaches believe in you, the fans believe in you, and everybody that means something to The Game believes in you. We’re ready to go.”

These seniors have experienced highs and lows. They’ve seen their program rise into the College Football Playoff’s Top 5 in 2016 and 2018. They’ve seen their program finish the season unranked in 2017. As freshman, some of them were there when the Wolverines lost in double-overtime in the Horseshoe in 2016. Most of them were here for last season’s lopsided loss as well.

It’s all led to this. One last touch of the banner. One last shot at Ohio State.

“I wouldn’t change a thing up to this point,” Patterson said. “This is a team that’s been through so much the past two years, this season — how we’ve been battling. We’re battle-tested. We’ve lost. Double-overtime. We’ve been through some stuff this year. I can’t sit here and tell you how it’s gonna play out on Saturday, but I can tell you that we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

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Even amidst one-sided stretch, The Game remains as important as ever

Michigan hasn’t won the Big Ten in 15 years. They’ve beaten Ohio State once in that stretch. The two facts coinciding are not a coincidence.

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It’s often said that college football is built on rivalry games. Other sports have them – Yankees-Red Sox, Lakers-Celtics, Packers-Bears, Duke-North Carolina – but college football rivalries burn with a special intensity.

And if the sport itself is built on these rivalries, it isn’t too much of a stretch to suggest that programs are built on them as well.

Michigan-Ohio State is, in the minds of many, the greatest rivalry in college football. Some would go as far as to say it’s the greatest rivalry in all of sports, period.

As special as this game is to the fans on both sides, there’s nothing that compares to being an actual participant, whether as a coach or a player.

“I’m very aware of the rivalry, having played in it, having coached in it,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “I grew up here and my dad was a coach. As I liken the Michigan State game to a state championship, this is even bigger. This is two-states’ championship, Michigan and Ohio. We’re excited about it. We’re excited for the challenge.”

Harbaugh watched his father coach in the game. He watched his mentor, Bo Schembechler, compete against Woody Hayes in the game.

“Pretty much had a pretty good understanding of this rivalry at a very young age,” Harbaugh said, noting also that he had great respect for the coaches and players on both sides.

Players born in these two states grow up with an appreciation for ‘The Game.’ Others born outside the rivalry, like Michigan’s Nick Eubanks – a native of Florida – quickly learn what it’s about once they step on campus.

“Michigan and Ohio State probably wasn’t relevant in my time, but as I grew up, started watching more football, it became known that this was a big rivalry,” Eubanks said. “I looked at this game more, the more I started getting interested in it. When I committed here, I had a chance my freshman year to see the big rivalry, it became very important to me and the team, too.”

Having grown up in Alabama, wide receiver Nico Collins is certainly aware of the ‘Iron Bowl’ between Alabama and Auburn – the rivalry that is often debated against ‘The Game’ as the top feud in the sport.

Collins may have grown up with the Iron Bowl, but his attention is fully on The Game this week.

“This game means a lot to me,” Collins said. “This game means a lot obviously to both teams, coaches. This game is really personal for everybody. I’ll go out Saturday, just have fun and enjoy the moment.”

Senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp noted that even with a game-by-game approach, rivalry games stick in players’ minds throughout a season.

“This game means a lot to all of us just because there’s two games that you think about the entire year when you come to Michigan,” Kemp said. “Two of the most historic rivalries in all of football, in college sports. Nothing’s gonna change in our approach. Our whole approach this year has been day-by-day, brick-by-brick, game-by-game and on defense, play-by-play. That’s what it’s gonna take for us to be successful on Saturday.”

Linebacker Khaleke Hudson, a defensive captain alongside Kemp, agrees with his co-captain’s sentiments.

“It means a lot to me,” Hudson said. “Coming here, that’s one of your main goals, to come out and beat Ohio, beat Michigan State, beat Penn State, beat Wisconsin, beat the best teams in the Big Ten. This game means a lot to me.”

The past decade and a half of the rivalry has been unkind to the Wolverines. Michigan is 1-14 in that stretch, and it should come as no surprise that the Wolverines have failed to win a Big Ten championship over the same period.

Programs are built by beating their rivals. Ohio State has thrived in Big Ten play these past 15 seasons, winning or sharing the conference title nine times. Michigan’s program crumbled in the period, leading to an unprecedented conference title drought.

There are a lot of reasons why this game means so much to both programs, but the evidence above points to perhaps the biggest reason this rivalry is so important.

The Wolverines desperately need a win in The Game. Harbaugh desperately needs to end his winless streak as Michigan’s head coach in The Game. His program is depending on it.

“My feelings? I’m excited for the game. Excited. Up for and ready for the challenge,” Harbaugh said. “I love the competition. This is the biggest game of the year.”

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What would a win over Ohio State do for Michigan and Jim Harbaugh?

Michigan football is looking to get its first win over Ohio State in eight years. What would the win do for the program and the school?

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November 26th, 2011. Eight years ago on the day. 2,922 days ago. That was how long it’s been since Michigan has beaten Ohio State. It’s the longest the Wolverines have gone without a win against the Buckeyes, with 2,562 being the previous record from 2004-2010. The number will grow to 2,926 before Saturday as well.

Playing in a rivalry game that you haven’t won in almost 3,000 days is horrendous and makes some question if it’s even a rivalry game between the two teams. Despite the length, it isn’t the longest in the rivalry history as Michigan once was on a nine-year winning streak on Ohio State that lasted from 1901-1909 as in 1910 it ended in a 3-3 tie. The length of the streak was 3,269 days for the Wolverines.

Another win by Ohio State would put them close to breaking that record if they are able to win in 2020, extend it to 2021 and get on a nine-game winning streak of their own.

But that’s a topic for another day. Today, it’s about if Michigan is able to beat Ohio State this season. What would a win this year over the Buckeyes do for the Wolverines?

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh had an interesting take on what a win would mean on Saturday, depicting the game as a battle of two states for one title.

“It’ll be the state championship between two states,” Harbaugh said. “It’d be big, it always is.”

Harbaugh winning this game would be his first in the five years he’s coached at Michigan. His 0-4 record doesn’t showcase the drama with the series, like in 2016 when the officials gave Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett a first down on a fourth-down run in double overtime that was very close but looked short and ended up being called for a first down. Ohio State would score on the next play and win the game.

The game was close in 2017, despite Michigan coming in with an 8-3 record as the Buckeyes won 31-20. 2015 and 2018 were blowouts, with the most recent one being stuck in the heads of Michigan fans around the world.

So what would a win this year mean for the players?

“Just being able to go out there and continue to building off everything we’ve been able to accomplish this year,” defensive tackle Carlo Kemp said. Obviously, getting 10 wins in the season is remarkable. Being able to play in this game, being able to represent all the historic players and the tradition of Michigan in this game, there’s a huge opportunity. To win this game, obviously, would be incredible.”

The players want this win desperately and so do the coaches, the university and the fans. The win gives the Wolverines bragging rights for an entire year, help quiet the Harbaugh critics out there and be a huge boost to the program and university itself.

Players know it too, and linebacker Khaleke Hudson added what the win would mean for Harbaugh and to finally get a point in the win column against Ohio State.

“I believe it would mean a lot for him,” Hudson said. “It would mean a lot for Michigan going forward with all aspects. With recruiting, going forward into next season, having confidence, just keep this thing going. I feel like it would be a great win for him.”

Ohio State is undefeated and is looking like the best college football team right now. They are going to the Big Ten Championship game next week with their opponent unknown right now, and before the updated College Football Playoff rankings are released tonight, they are the second-ranked team that has an argument to be ranked number one with their win over Penn State last week.

Out of the four teams Harbaugh has played before, this team is the best one yet as he has yet to take on an undefeated Buckeyes team in his tenure. With this Ohio State looking like the best team they’ve had in years, possibly ever, a win over them would speak volumes for Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

A win would shoot the Wolverines up the playoff rankings next Tuesday and suddenly question them as a playoff contender despite not reaching the conference championship game. This win would be bigger than any of the Ohio State wins that Urban Meyer had against the Wolverines, as he never went up against any undefeated Michigan teams.

Michigan winning this game not only can shake up this year’s postseason games, and end the streak that’s lasted almost 3,000 days, it could be a shifting of the tides in the rivalry and within the college football landscape. While Michigan has somewhat been back on the map with Harbaugh as head coach, this was one of the biggest hurdles he has yet to overcome. This win would put Michigan smack in the middle of the college football map.

He’s beaten Michigan State (even started a winning streak against them), he’s beaten Notre Dame, he’s won a bowl game. But those things aren’t as important as the next three: Beating Ohio State, winning a Big Ten title, and appearing/winning the College Football Playoff.

To get to those final two, you gotta get through Ohio State. While the Big Ten title can’t happen in 2019, a win over the Buckeyes this season could propel his program to get a boost and prepare to capture it in 2020. That would mean they have to get through Ohio State again, and start a winning streak of their own against the Buckeyes.

This win just isn’t a season-defining game for the Wolverines and Harbaugh, it’s a career-defining game. If he beats Ohio State at their absolute best, it would be the biggest win in his career, bigger than winning the NFC title with the San Francisco 49ers. The next biggest would be a Big Ten title win or a College Football Playoff win.

For now, the focus is on the Buckeyes and Harbaugh is looking to finally pull one out for the Wolverines as it could change the future of the rivalry and college football overall.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Michigan downplays two former coaches coming to town with Ohio State

If there’s any ill-will towards the two Wolverines coaches defecting to OSU, you wouldn’t know it this week.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — You’d think with Michigan set to play its arch-rival on Saturday that there would be a war of words, especially given some of the circumstances.

However, there’s been a level of cordiality leading up to The Game against Ohio State, if not outright willful ignorance in some regard.

Yes, Michigan has acknowledged that it’s been a long while since it has beaten OSU, as has it regarded what happened last year in Columbus. Perhaps it’s an attempt to avoid bulletin board material for a team it doesn’t want to get any more fired up, particularly because the Wolverines already have a quiet reason to be angrier than usual heading into the final Saturday of November.

That’s because two former Michigan coaches inexplicably left the program this offseason in favor of joining the Buckeyes. It’s not unprecedented — famed head coach Bo Schembechler was once an assistant there, and Gary Moeller was an Ohio State team captain. Current offensive line coach Ed Warinner won national championship in Columbus in the same role, and that’s the hope for two former Wolverines coaches who are now coaching under Ryan Day.

Former linebackers coach Al Washington’s lateral move made all the sense in the world. He was the son of a former Buckeyes captain himself and grew up in Columbus revering all things scarlet and grey. But Greg Mattison, the former defensive line coach turned OSU co-defensive coordinator? His turn of the coat shocked the college football world when WolverinesWire broke the news back in January.

So, if Michigan has any hard feelings — and it indicated it did back in the spring — it’s being awfully quiet about it now.

Jim Harbaugh was asked what it would be like to face his two former assistants wearing enemy colors on Saturday and he quickly demurred, praising the job Day has done since taking over the program this offseason.

“I think Ryan Day has done a tremendous job and I think his coaching staff has done a tremendous job coaching this team,” Harbaugh said. “They’re one heckuva good football team. It’s a challenge, in terms of the preparation during the week. We’ve been doing it and attacking it and feel confident right now, feel good. Excited to get on the field and practice.”

That attitude was reflected by the players as well.

Defensive tackle Carlo Kemp has to face his former mentor in Mattison on Saturday, having played for him for three years before watching him join his archenemy. But, like Harbaugh, he isn’t taking any of the bait.

“Nothing really changes except they’ve got very good coaches, but at the same time, we’ve got very good coaches as well,” Kemp said. “Everybody in that meeting room and everybody that’s been with us — since January, since camp, since spring ball — they’ve been working for this, they’ve been thinking about this game. It’s a huge opportunity. Everybody in there is ready to go.

“Being able to be a part of this with the coaches I have in my room and the coaches that I have every day at practice, going out there and playing for them, that’s what gets you excited to this game. Getting to go out there with everybody that’s been here and is ready to go for this game.”

Fellow team captain Khaleke Hudson is in similar territory.

Washington was the Wolverines linebackers coach a year ago, and now Hudson has to see him on the opposite sideline this time around.

He harbors no ill-will towards the former Wolverines coach, and is more focused on the task at-hand rather than sending some kind of message.

At least, that’s what’s being said publicly.

“Ultimately, it’s their life, it’s their decision,” “I don’t hold anything against them. They decided to go to there. They had to make decisions for themselves and for their families. I got nothing but the most utmost respect for both of them guys. It’s gonna be good — it’s gonna feel good playing against them. They went to Ohio State — I’m not really focused on that. I’m just focused on the team, what we’ve gotta do. How we’re going to practice and how we’re going to prepare to get ready to get a victory on Saturday.”

Certainly, this Michigan team won’t be without motivation when the Buckeyes enter The Big House on Saturday, even if it is downplaying some of the key storylines in that regard.

Kickoff is slated for noon EST and the game will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

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Wolverines face unique, yet familiar challenge in Justin Fields

Michigan’s defense has a tall task this weekend against Ohio State, and it starts with trying to contain Buckeye quarterback Justin Fields.

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Michigan has faced gunslingers at quarterback over the course of the last five seasons. The Wolverines have faced mobile quarterbacks too.

But in all the games Michigan has played since Jim Harbaugh took over in 2015, the Wolverines may not have faced a better opposing quarterback than Ohio State’s Justin Fields.

Fields is a combination of three Buckeye quarterbacks that gave Michigan nightmares. His size and passing ability rivals that of Dwayne Haskins. His speed and athleticism induces fear like Braxton Miller. And his grit and toughness reminds you of J.T. Barrett.

Let’s throw in a fourth, from a different era, just for fun:

Think Troy Smith, but bigger.

Fields’ ability to hurt a defense in multiple ways isn’t lost on Harbaugh, who had plenty of good things to say about the quarterback on Monday.

“Justin Fields has had a tremendous year, playing winning football at all times,” Harbaugh said. “Really athletic, runs the ball extremely well. Gets a lane, gets a throw, he’ll make the throw. And also when there’s a lane, he’ll escape and he’ll do damage with himself running the football.”

Completing 69.4 percent of his passes, Fields has thrown for 2,352 yards with a staggering 33 passing touchdowns against just one interception. He’s also carried the ball 105 times for 445 yards and 10 touchdowns. Due to this running ability, Fields is an especially frustrating guy to defend on third downs.

“He’s a good dual-threat guy,” Harbaugh said. “He can hurt you in the passing game. He’s got a lot of good receivers and tight ends. Also, if they’re covered, he can pull it down, make the yardage, make the first down. Extend the drives, extend the plays. A very good player.”

If there is one criticism you can direct at Fields this season it’s this – he’s fumbled eight times in 11 games, losing four. Two of those lost fumbles came last week against Penn State, the second of which helped the Nittany Lions get within 21-17 after being down three touchdowns.

Fields made up for that later, however, throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Olave to put Penn State away.

“He’s just very dynamic, he’s very good,” said Michigan defensive tackle Carlo Kemp. “And, as you can see, he makes little mistakes. It’s just going to be [doing] whatever we can to cause those mistakes to happen.”

The Wolverines have grown accustomed to facing dynamic Buckeye quarterbacks. But familiarity hasn’t led to success.

Of all the quarterbacks mentioned above, it’s possible that Fields will be the most difficult to contain. Michigan’s defense knows the challenge that’s ahead. It remains to be seen if they have an answer.

“Execution,” defensive captian Khaleke Hudson said. “Executing the job. Every defense that we have is made to stop the run and pass. All of our guys executing our job, doing what we’ve gotta do for every second of the game — we’re gonna get that done.”

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Second-half of 2018 collapse at OSU fueling Michigan’s defense

Why the last 19 minutes of the 2018 version of The Game sticks fresh in the mind of the current Wolverines defense.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  ‘Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.’

Back in August, Michigan defensive coordinator boiled the failures of the 2018 regular season to 38 total minutes — 19 minutes to start the season, and 19 minutes to end the season.

And he wasn’t wrong.

“If you look at our season, regular season – that’s all I’m talking about – the first 19 minutes of the regular season were not very good for Michigan defense,” Brown said. “The next 10 game stretch was pretty damn good. And then, we’ve got 19 minutes left in the Ohio State game, and it’s a 7 point game or an 8 point game – 26-19 or whatever it is. And the last 17 minutes weren’t very good.

“If we would have just squeezed out the first 19 and the last 19, which is probably the result of the things we can control – five drives – it might have been a historic year. Well, it wasn’t. So what are you gonna do about it? You’ve gotta squeeze out the first 19, squeeze out the last 19. That means mentally you’ve gotta be tougher. That means, from a preparation standpoint, we’ve gotta be better. That means from my standpoint, I’ve gotta be better. So that’s really the challenge.”

2019 has been more of a mixed bag. The defense started the season slow, reaching the nadir of its mediocre play at Wisconsin, where it got gashed for 35 unanswered points.

It coalesced from there, to some degree, but had similar issues to start the Penn State game, the seventh of the season. However, from there, the defense has clamped down, allowing just 9.3 points-per-game starting with the second half in Happy Valley. Notre Dame could get nothing going. Maryland’s only score was on special teams. Michigan State got an early touchdown and nothing else. Indiana started hot, but was inept offensively after scoring with less than a minute into the second quarter.

So with Ohio State and the nation’s No. 6-rated offense on deck, these Wolverines can’t help but think back to the last 19 minutes of last year’s version of The Game, when a two-score game ballooned into three. Michigan’s offense managed to keep putting points on the board, but Ohio State could not be stopped, scoring on every single possession in the second-half, save for the first.

For Michigan, it’s equated into wholesale changes on defense. Though the overall aggressive philosophy has been the same, Brown has implemented a lot more zone concepts.

Seemingly, everything Michigan has done since the 62-39 shellacking in Columbus has been in response to what happened a year ago, and a desire to keep that from happening again.

“It’s fueled us a lot, just knowing that the last 19 minutes didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” senior VIPER Khaleke Hudson said. “We’ve been doing everything throughout this whole year and we’ll do everything throughout this week to change that — to play 60 minutes to the best of our ability.”

Now that The Game is mere days away, while Ohio State seems like an unbeatable monolith, it’s the spectre of last year’s season finale that keeps these Wolverines going.

While some games — won or lost — quickly make their way into the rearview, for players like team captain Carlo Kemp, the constant reminder of how things fell apart in Columbus have kept him and his teammates going as they’ve prepared for this moment.

Last year, it was the revenge tour. This year, particularly against the Buckeyes, it feels more like seeeking redemption.

“(It means) a lot — personally, I can think about that, because I’m part of those last 19 minutes,” Kemp said. “You can’t erase none of that film. Whatever’s out there is what happened. I’ve been thinking about those plays and those 19 minutes that (Don Brown) talks about, and I take it personally, because I was a part of it and I wasn’t able to help nobody that played for Michigan that day. I wasn’t able to help the defense, I wasn’t able to help the offense. Wasn’t able to help the special teams. It’s just something you think about.

“And being able to have another chance this week to go out there and perform, it’s a huge opportunity.”

It’ll be a tall task for this Michigan team, however. Ohio State shows few — if any — weaknesses, and have won every single game by double digits.

However, at the moment, the Buckeyes are favored by just 8.5 points, a full score less than any other game this season.

The Wolverines are playing with confidence and a knowledge that they weren’t good enough last year. Will that make them good enough this year, against and even stronger OSU team?

We’ll find out at noon on Saturday.

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