Top-Ranked Buckeyes Cruise Past Minnesota, 42–3
The Ohio State passing attack, led by quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Carnell Tate, was too much for the Minnesota Golden Gophers to handle on Saturday night in Columbus.
The top-ranked Buckeyes, behind 326 passing yards from Sayin and 183 receiving yards from Tate, defeated the Gophers 42–3, scoring 42 unanswered points en route to their fifth victory of the season.
Saturday night’s game started in promising fashion for the Golden Gophers. After receiving the opening kickoff, Drake Lindsey and the Minnesota offense efficiently drove down the field, collecting 66 yards on 13 plays before settling for a 27-yard field goal from Brady Denaburg.
That offensive drive would ultimately be just one of two that crossed midfield into the Buckeyes’ territory in the game. Over the course of nine additional drives, Minnesota gained just 96 yards of total offense.
The Buckeyes’ offense failed to score on only three of their nine total drives, excluding their final possession, which consisted of a single kneel-down.
After missing a 53-yard field goal on their first drive of the game, the Ohio State offense found its groove and put together three straight scoring drives in the first half.
Following a strong Tom Weston punt that pinned the Buckeyes deep at their own 9-yard line, Ohio State moved the ball swiftly down the field, going 91 yards on just seven plays, including back-to-back gains of 48 and 31 yards. The 48-yard reception by Carnell Tate set up what would become a huge day for the junior wide receiver.
The 91-yard scoring drive was capped off by Buckeyes tailback CJ Donaldson punching it in from one yard out.
Following a Minnesota three-and-out that lasted just 63 seconds, the Buckeyes went on another quick scoring drive, covering 80 yards on eight plays in less than three minutes of game time. This time, it was star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith with a six-yard touchdown reception. with a six-yard reception.
Facing a two-score deficit, P.J. Fleck and Minnesota looked to be aggressive on their next drive. Facing a fourth-and-one from their own 44-yard line, the Gophers chose to go for it. Curiously, they lined up in the shotgun before handing it off to Darius Taylor, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.
The Minnesota rushing attack was unable to get anything going for most of the evening, totaling just 68 yards on 25 carries. Redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi remained the team’s most productive running back with 13 attempts for 52 yards.
Following the turnover on downs, it took Ohio State just one play to find the end zone, as Carnell Tate easily got past cornerback Za’Quan Bryan and got wide open for Julian Sayin to connect with him on a 44-yard touchdown, giving the Buckeyes a 21-3 lead.
Minnesota’s defense would slow the bleeding for a short period of time following the Carnell Tate, forcing back-to-back punts on Ohio State’s last first-half drive and first second-half drive, but the Buckeyes would pick up the pace midway through the third quarter.
After a Golden Gophers three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, Ohio State would use trickery on special teams as punt returner Brandon Inniss would throw a lateral pass across the field to Lorenzo Styles Jr., who returned the punt to the Minnesota 20-yard line.
Three plays later, the Buckeyes took a 28-3 lead thanks to a five-yard touchdown run from true freshman tailback Bo Jackson.
Ohio State would add a second receiving touchdown from Jeremiah Smith early in the fourth quarter and a rushing touchdown from backup quarterback Lincoln Keinholz late in the game, to cap off their dominant victory over the Gophers.
Minnesota, now 3-2 and 1-1 in Big Ten play will look to get back in the win column next Saturday when they host the Purdue Boilermakers at Huntington Bank Stadium.
