Ohio State Buckeyes Star Reveals Huge Role Michigan Had in Returning Players

Denzel Burke and the Ohio State Buckeyes are heading into the 2024 college football season with two huge goals.

First and foremost, they want to win a National Championship. Anything short of that would be categorized as a massive disappointment.

Second, they want to beat the Michigan Wolverines and snap their three-year losing streak to their arch-rival.

In a recent interview, Burke spoke out about the recent losing to Michigan. He made it clear that coming back and beating the Wolverines was a huge reason that he and many other players chose to return to the Buckeyes for one more year rather than enter the NFL Draft.

“Every part of it, honestly. No gold pants, no natty, so that was a big part of our (decisions), one of the reasons why we came back. And we’re all on the same page. We’ve got to win every single game, no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Star linebacker Jack Sawyer is another name who has a huge motivation to beat Michigan this season.

“Three seasons that we came up short against those guys, and I’d be lying if I told you that it didn’t burn a fire inside of us. Definitely something that we think about. And we know what’s at stake when we play those guys. All of our goals and aspirations for the season rides on that one game in November. And they hate us, we hate them, that’s the way it’s gotta be. That’s the way we want it to be, that’s what makes that rivalry so fun.”

Clearly, the Buckeyes are on a mission this season. They want to win it all and they don’t want to lose a game. That is easier said than done, but on paper Ohio State does have that kind of talent.

It will be interesting to see how the team plays throughout the course of the 2024 season. Come Michigan week, if both teams are still in a place of contention, it could go down as one of the biggest matchups in the storied rivalry in quite some time.

Expect to see the Buckeyes play with a little extra motivation this season. They’re clearly angry about their recent losing to Michigan and they sound ready to come out and prove a point this year.