The Michigan football team is currently 12-0 and ranked #2 in the country, and they are about to play in the Big Ten Championship game for the third straight season. In Jim Harbaugh's first five seasons in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines were close to making the Big Ten title game many times, but they could never get over the hump. Then, Michigan finally started beating Ohio State football. The Wolverines have won three in a row against the Buckeyes, and that is why they are on the cusp of a third straight Big Ten title.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, there isn't anything more important than the Michigan football team beating Ohio State. The Wolverines went on a big drought in the series as the Buckeyes won every game from 2012-2019, but they have now won three straight in the series. A big reason for their wins has been the play of their defense, and DC Jesse Minter knows how important that game is to this program.

“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, according to an article from Blue By Ninety.

While the Ohio State game happens just once a year (for now), it is something that the Michigan football team is always preparing for.

“(Beating Ohio State is) something you work on every day here,” Minter continued. “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.”

Last weekend, Michigan won their third in a row against the Buckeyes. With everything going on with the sign-stealing, and the implications of the game in terms of the Big Ten and College Football Playoff race, this felt like maybe the most crucial game of the Michigan-Ohio State series ever. If this game was one year later, the two teams would be playing the very next week in the Big Ten Championship. We might never see a game like this between these two rivals again. The Wolverines got the win, and they're already thinking about it doing it again next year.

“So yeah, it’s a year-round thing, and it’s really important,” Minter concluded. “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).”

Michigan has the upper hand in the rivalry right now, and as long as that continues, they will likely continue to compete for Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff spots. The last time the winner of The Game didn't win the Big Ten was in 2016. Michigan vs. Ohio State is everything.