The reigning national champions enter October a perfect 4-0 and have looked good in the process. To this point, the defense has led the effort. Ohio State’s Silver Bullets are allowing just 5.5 points per game, the best in the nation. Fresh off a win against a solid Washington team that looks poised to surprise this year, the Buckeyes get to turn their focus to Minnesota in the second prime-time game of the year.
All-time, officially, the Ohio State-Minnesota series favors the Buckeyes, 47-7. The last time Minnesota took down the Buckeyes, John Cooper was coaching in his final season in Columbus. A lot has changed since that 2000 season.
Minnesota has started off this year a respectable 3-1 with wins over Buffalo, Northwestern State (FCS), and Rutgers. California proved to be too much to handle in Week 3, however. While Ohio State is a three-score favorite, the Golden Gophers are coming to town ready to spoil the Buckeyes’ Homecoming festivities.
Ohio State, Minnesota To Face off Under the Lights
Reassert Offensive Line Dominance
This year, the Buckeye offensive line has been a strength. Against Washington, there were a few dents in the armor, so to speak. The right side of the line did not have the best game, with Tegra Tshabola and Phillip Daniels getting beaten or nailed with penalties.
Ryan Day has not shown any desire to make a move at either position, so the two will try to get back to business against a Minnesota defensive line with a combined nine sacks. Half of those sacks are attributed to a Big Ten Honorable mention from a year ago, redshirt junior Anthony Smith. He moves around in his alignment, so if he has an advantageous matchup against Daniels, expect PJ Fleck and the defensive coaching staff to exploit it. Smith provides a great opportunity for the former Golden Gopher to show why he won the job.
The left side of the line has been looking like it’s among the best in the country. Last week, center Carson Hinzman was the highest-graded center in the country according to PFF, if that’s your thing. Luke Montgomery has been impressing coaches and fans alike with his tenacity, especially in run blocking. However, the star to this point is left tackle Austin Siereveld.
Across the entire nation, only one tackle has yet to allow a single pressure. Siereveld has been a revelation protecting Julian Sayin‘s blindside. Smith will likely line up over Siereveld a bit, setting up a potential heavyweight matchup.
Dictate the Minnesota Offense
Through four games this year, the Minnesota offense has been a run-first attack. On average, the Golden Gophers run the ball about 36 times per game for 144 yards. However, last week, Minnesota aired it out against Rutgers. Darius Taylor came into this year as the unquestioned star of the offense and leader among the running backs. Taylor suffered a lower-body injury in the win over Northwestern State and has not played since. His backup, A.J. Turner, was set to take over, but he suffered a season-ending injury himself.
So, Fleck let Drake Lindsey air it out against a maligned Rutgers secondary. The redshirt freshman completed 31-of-41 passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The six-foot-five signal-caller is an underrated presence in the Big Ten and will test the Buckeyes’ secondary.
Last week, Ohio State was able to limit the impact of Demond Williams Jr. Just as the defense was able to do against Williams, if it can harass Lindsey for the first real time of his young career, he will be susceptible to making mistakes.
This feels like an opportunity for Caleb Downs. He plays all over the formation for the Buckeyes and makes a significant impact that one can’t see on the statsheet. If there is going to be a player who can take over, it’ll be Downs.
First Real Test for Minny
Yes, Minnesota enters this game 3-1, but it hasn’t exactly faced top-tier competition. Cal has a true freshman quarterback who is taking the college football world by storm. He went off for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Needless to say, Sayin should be expected to meet or exceed that. The Buckeyes’ weapons are a bit better than Cal’s, to say the least.
At the same time, the strength of the Golden Gophers’ defense could have been considered its run defense. That was until Rutgers ran for 138 yards and two scores last week.
Bo Jackson has seemingly taken over the RB1 role after running for 297 yards and a score over the last three games. His 8.5 yards per carry leads the Big Ten and is fourth-best in the country. He and CJ Donaldson should be able to find success against this Minnesota defense, thus opening things up for Jeremiah Smith to do what he does best. Well, that doesn’t narrow it down because Smith does everything well.
Ohio State has not shown quite what it is capable of to this point in the year. With an October with three massively winnable games, the Buckeyes should be able to continue to tune up to get ready for Penn State at the beginning of November.
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