Minnesota had No. 4 Ohio State on the ropes, but the Buckeyes showed just how quickly they can flip the script.
Even after jumping out to a 10-0 lead, the Buckeyes found themselves trailing Minnesota 14-10 at halftime and then 21-17 in the third quarter. But in the span of about eight minutes, Ohio State flipped that four-point deficit into a 10-point advantage and eventually escaped with a hard-fought 45-31 victory on the road in Minneapolis.
On the first play after Minnesota retook that 21-17 lead, Ohio State responded with a 56-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Garrett Wilson. Stroud, making his first career start, hit Wilson in stride with a beautiful ball. But it was Wilson, the All-American, who did most of the work with a sparkling route to shake the Minnesota defender and get behind the defense.
On the ensuing possession, two more of Ohio State’s showed up. This time, it was defensive linemen Zach Harrison and Haskell Garrett. Harrison, the five-star defensive end, was converging on Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan all night and finally got to him. He got the ball, too, and forced it loose on a strip sack.
The ball bounced free and Garrett, an all-Big Ten selection, scooped it up and rumbled 32 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 31-21.
Minnesota responded with a field goal on its next drive, but field goals won’t cut it when you’re trying to upset a top five team. That’s especially true when the Buckeyes are rolling out the next cavalcade of stud freshmen. In 2021, running back TreVeyon Henderson looks to be the best of the bunch.
He showed why with this 70-yard burst on a screen pass from Stroud.
That put the Buckeyes up 38-24 with 9:43 to go. It was too much for the Gophers to overcome, especially with star running back Mo Ibrahim (162 yards, 2 TDs) sidelined with a foot injury.
When Minnesota trailed 10-0 in the second quarter and was struggling to move the ball, Ibrahim turned the game on its head with a 56-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play from Minnesota’s own 29-yard line. That set up a Gophers touchdown and made it a game. It became even more of a game when Stroud threw an interception on OSU’s next possession, leading to an Ibrahim touchdown that gave Minnesota its first lead, 14-10.
The Gophers would take that lead into halftime, but it wouldn’t last for Minnesota. In the end, Ohio State’s talent advantage was just too much to overcome.