Jesse Minter reflects on Michigan’s emotional win vs. Ohio State

Michigan did it yet again, beating rival Ohio State for a third consecutive season to secure their spot in the Big Ten Championship game and likely the College Football Playoff.

Saturday’s game lived up to the hype, highlighted by another physical and emotional performance from the Wolverines. Which defensive coordinator Jesse Minter reflected on during a press conference Wednesday.

“To me, this is the game. When you come to Michigan it’s for this game, for this type of game,” Minter said. “Our season goals really hinged on that game, all the reason that the guys came back, all the reasons we want to get to that next step as a program and have success in the championship game and in the playoffs hinged on that game. It was a moment, was happy with the way the game ended. Rod [Moore] made a great play and certainly got caught up in the moment, got excited.”

Moore’s game-sealing interception during the Buckeyes’ final offensive drive of the game was met with a roar from the sold-out crowd at Michigan Stadium and with players taking off helmets and coming off of the sideline to celebrate.

The celebratory antics were met with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which the Wolverines’ coaches probably were able to come to grips with given the magnitude of the moment. Stakes that can best be described through Minter’s words regarding the importance of this game dating back to when he was hired following the 2021 season.

“Anytime you go somewhere you assess what’s the thing that’s kept this place from reaching the highest goals that you might have, and particularly it was that game. There were so many wins and a lot of success and a lot of really good defense, I mean number one defense in the country, top five,” Minter explained. “But is it set up to beat the team that you know you have to beat that you’re gonna play in the last game of the season every year? When I interviewed here it was like how are we going to beat Ohio State and how are we going beat Michigan State? Because we were coming off a loss to Michigan State as well.”

The Buckeyes have only scored 74 points versus Michigan’s defense in the past three seasons, which Minter attributes to their constant focus on that specific matchup that goes well beyond their single week of preparation leading up to the game.

“It’s something you work on every day here, you work on it year round. I think all the drills that we do, all the physicality, 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,” Minter said. “So yeah, it’s a year-round thing and it’s really important and even after the game you’re already thinking about what you’re gonna do the next time you play them and the answers that you need to have for maybe some things you showed. So it’s a year round process and the guys here have really bought into that and it’s allowed us to be successful over the last couple times we’ve played them.”

Michigan’s year-long dedication to beating Ohio State clearly paid off, as they’ll now take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championships on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET in a game airing on FOX.