MY THOUGHTS.....Minnesota

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes overcame the opening-game jitters and a decent conference opponent on their home turf and pulled away in the second half for a 45-31 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

                All six of Ohio State’s touchdowns against Minnesota came on plays of 30 yards or more and they made the difference, as well as the 32-yard scoop-and-score by Haskell Garrett.  So, on a day when they were breaking in a first-time starter at quarterback and the defense was clearly still working through some issues, they managed to gut out the victory. 

                It is clear, the Buckeyes have a three-headed monster at RB with Master Teague, Miyan Williams, and TreVeyon Henderson.  Williams led the way with 125 yards on just nine carries, bolstered by his 71-yard touchdown run on the first possession.  Teague saw most of his action in the first half, with 29 yards, showing a good burst on a couple of his runs.  Henderson carried only twice but showed his moves and speed late in the game by taking a reception 70 yards to the house.  Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave turned up big with Wilson catching five balls for 80 yards and a score and Olave four passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.  The offensive line did a good job of protecting Stroud as he was sacked only once and, in the second half, started to get more of a push off the line of scrimmage. 

The defensive back seven struggled a bit at times, but of the seven starters for this game, only Josh Proctor had ever started a previous game.  As it turned out, Cameron Brown didn’t even make the trip to Minneapolis and Sevyn Banks didn’t play.  Instead, redshirt freshman Ryan Watts and true freshman Denzel Burke got the starting nod at the CB positions.  Burke thus became the second true freshman ever, along with Andy Katzenmoyer in 1996, to start an Ohio State season opener on defense.  The inexperience of the back seven accounted for, outside Garrett’s scop-and-score, a rather lackluster performance for the defense as they gave up 408 yards total offense and 31 points.  Ronnie Hickman led the way in tackles with 11 and Teradja Mitchell had ten, including a tackle for loss.  Banks and Brown should be back in action for the game against Oregon, however Josh Proctor’s status is still in question.  Proctor left the game in the fourth quarter and went to the locker room after suffering an injury.

After competing with redshirt freshman Jake Seibert for the kicking job in preseason camp, North Carolina graduate transfer Noah Ruggles was ushered in as the new place kicker.  Ruggles was flawless in his debut, making his only field goal attempt from 35 yards out and all six of his PATs.  Only one of his eight kickoffs was returned, and it was stopped at the 20-yard line. 

The Buckeyes next turn their attention to a tough matchup with the Oregon Ducks in their home opener.  Even though Oregon squeaked by Fresno State, they figure to be a huge test, especially for the defensive front seven that has some work to do between now and then.