Michigan has had its fair share of recent success in rivalry games, with three wins over Michigan State and four wins over Ohio State in the past four seasons. The success has come despite plenty of roster
and coaching staff turnover in that same time, and as one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten, plenty of players will be getting their first taste of the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry this Saturday night.
Even though there are plenty of new guys like Bryce Underwood and Andrew Marsh who have never played in a college football rivalry game before, Michigan still has a handful of players on the roster that have been through several. One of those is captain and fullback Max Bredeson, who’s going to be playing the Spartans for the fifth time in his career this week.
As the elder statesman of the team, Bredeson has the chance to let the young players know what they’re in for on Saturday. As a team captain, it’s something he’s taken pride in throughout this week.
“I enjoy being able to spread (knowledge about) what this game is about,” Bredeson said. “Having played in it and being able to be a guy for the new guys playing in it, I take pride in being able to introduce everyone to what this game is about.”
Although he’s not a Michigan native, Bredeson has gotten the chance to entrench himself in the rivalry with Michigan State a bit more over the years, both by playing in the game and through his brother, former Michigan guard Ben Bredeson. He emphasized the pride the program takes in playing in this game, even referring to it as the “state championship.”
However, he did also mention that perhaps being from the state gives players a bit of an inside edge even if they’ve never played in the game before. In regard to Underwood, a Detroit native, Bredeson mentioned the freshman quarterback should know what the game should be like.
“It definitely helps for knowing the rivalry, like (Underwood) being from Michigan — he definitely knows what the rivalry is about,” Bredeson said.
As for Bredeson’s own experience in the rivalry, he has the unique vantage point of actually having played in a loss to the Spartans. He is one of the few holdouts from Michigan’s 2021 team alongside guys like Rod Moore, Rayshaun Benny, T.J. Guy, Giovanni El-Hadi and Greg Crippen. Following Michigan’s 37-33 loss that year, the team had a players-only meeting led by Aidan Hutchinson that Bredeson reflected on as well.
“That player-led meeting after that was one of the biggest ‘welcome to college football moments’ I’ve been a part of,” Bredeson said. “Seeing those leaders step up there after a loss, a tough loss and seeing what those guys were about, that was definitely a huge moment for me.”
The loss a turning point for Michigan, as it helped springboard the group into late-season wins over Penn State and Ohio State and winning a Big Ten championship. Still trying to find itself this year, Michigan is hoping a win over Michigan State can help it launch another strong finish to a season, hopefully one culminating in another home win over an Ohio State team that looks like something of a juggernaut right now.
With an experienced and winning player like Bredeson leading the way for the younger players on the team, they should be in good position to do so.
