If you can't beat them, reach out to one of their best assistant coaches in program history and get tips. That's what Minnesota did with former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.

According to a report from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel contacted Aranda for insights into his 3-4 scheme that he could apply with the Gophers, Wisconsin's fiercest rival in a series that dates back to 1890.

Fall camp is just around the corner. Stay in the loop on the Badgers by signing up for the Wisconsin newsletter.

“I firmly expected, ‘Hey, you know, I’m not going to do that,’ ” Sawvel said. “But he said, ‘Sure, let’s talk after recruiting.’ ”

According to the report:

"Aranda spent several hours over two days in February talking with Sawvel at the Gophers football complex. They’d known each other from recruiting circles, and since they weren’t scheduled to compete against each other anytime soon, the time seemed right to share ideas."

For what it's worth, Minnesota, who has lost 12-straight games to Wisconsin, runs a 4-3 defense. The Gophers were looking to gain Aranda's perspective on his countless unique blitz package schemes.

“We probably had the best secondary in the Big Ten, but it didn’t show because our blitzing wasn’t there, our pass rushing ability wasn’t there,” junior linebacker Cody Poock told the Star Tribune.

Over the last three seasons combined, Aranda led Wisconsin to a top five finish nationally in total defense, scoring defense, passing defense, and rushing defense. The Badgers led the country in scoring defense in 2015, prior to his departure for LSU.

Wisconsin will take on Aranda and the Tigers on Sept. 3 in Green Bay for the 2016 season opener.