Michigan Football Is Already Preparing To Beat Ohio State In 2024

Last weekend, Michigan football (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) downed the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1) in “The Game” for the third straight season, earning a spot in the Big Ten title game and likely the College Football Playoff as a result. Today, we heard from Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter (second season), who explained that beating the Scarlet and Grey is priority No. 1 in Ann Arbor year-round, even saying that the Wolverines started thinking about how to beat OSU next year right after the game.

Michigan football earns third straight win over Ohio State, improving to 12-0 along the way

Jesse Minter has been a God-send for Michigan football since his arrival back in 2022 — his Michigan teams are 24-0 in the regular season, appearing in two straight Big Ten title games and potentially two straight College Football Playoffs if the Wolverines can beat No. 16 Iowa this weekend.

Michigan football has now won three straight against the Buckeyes, which is an incredible turnaround from Michigan’s eight-game losing streak from 2012 through 2019. A major part of the Wolverines’ newfound success against Ohio State is Michigan’s year-round focus on beating the Buckeyes, something that Jesse Minter gave us more insight on earlier today.

Jesse Minter says Michigan’s offense and defense prepare for Ohio State year-round. Spring ball, fall camp, and more. Says after the game Michigan already started thinking about how to beat Ohio State next year.

He says that beating MSU and OSU are both priority number one. pic.twitter.com/GhrIiAZ0XY

— CJ Mangum (@cjmangum_) November 29, 2023

Jesse Minter explains the importance of beating the Michigan State Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes

When Michigan football interviewed Jesse Minter for its defensive coordinator vacancy, two major areas of emphasis were beating Ohio State and beating Michigan State, Minter explained.

“When I interviewed here, it was, ‘How are we going to beat Ohio State? And how are we going to beat Michigan State?’ Because we were coming off a loss to Michigan State (in 2021) as well,” Jesse Minter said Wednesday.

Year-round prep for the Buckeyes helps Michigan win the Big Ten title and appear in the College Football Playoff annually

While Michigan State will always be priority No. 2 (perhaps No. 3, depending on how good MSU is that season and who else is on the schedule), downing the Buckeyes is always the main focus for the Wolverines. Jesse Minter says that it is a 364-day project for Jim Harbaugh‘s Wolverines and even said that Michigan starts thinking about beating Ohio State the next season right after “The Game” each year.

“(Beating Ohio State is) something you work on every day here,” the Michigan football defensive coordinator said. “You work on it year-round. All the drills that we do, all the physicality, all the things; I even think our offense has things built in to allow us to be ready for that game that you see in spring ball, you see in training camp.

“So yeah, it’s a year-round thing, and it’s really important. Even after “The Game,” you’re already thinking about what you’re going to do the next time you play them and the answers you need to have for maybe some things you showed. It’s a year-round process, and the guys here (at Michigan) have really bought into that, and it’s allowed us to be successful the last couple of times we’ve played (Ohio State).”

pic.twitter.com/PJhvZcZVvs

— CJ Mangum (@cjmangum_) November 29, 2023

While Ohio State will become a main focus over the offseason once again, and we are sure that Jesse Minter and the coaching staff have talked about adjustments for next year’s game following last weekend’s 30-24 win, the Maize and Blue have bigger fish to fry.

This weekend, Michigan football could win a third straight Big Ten title win over No. 16 Iowa, which would also punch the Wolverines’ ticket to a third consecutive College Football Playoff berth — likely placing Michigan in the Rose Bowl against the PAC-12 Champion or Florida State.

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