Gophers’ offense could cause problems for OSU

Don’t let Minnesota’s record from last year fool you. They may have gone 3-4 but that was a one-off due to COVID-19 and still had a pretty productive year on the offensive side of the ball. Especially in the backfield.

“A veteran team that has experience (and) two years ago, they were a top-10 team in the country and a lot of those guys are still on the team,” said Ryan Day.

Ohio State’s head coach said he knows he is in for a battle not only because of the Golden Gophers’ experience but opening up the season on the road won’t be an easy feat either.

“Starting with their quarterback, running back’s a very good player and they’re very, very well coached. (Minnesota head coach) P.J. (Fleck) does a good job there. They play hard, they take care of the football, (they’re) fundamentally sound, they make you earn it.”

They return the conference’s leading rusher in fifth-year senior Mohamed Ibrahim, who was the only running back in the Big Ten to rush for over 1,000 yards last year (1,076) and finished second in the country with 153.7 yards per game. Those accolades earned him the B1G’s Ameche-Dayne running back of the year award.

Day said the Buckeyes have spent more time than normal on tackling in a fall camp simply because of Ibrahim’s explosivity.

“Anytime you’re playing in the Big Ten, you’re going to go against really good running backs and we’ve played against good running backs before. But this guy is built low to the ground, he breaks tackles and when you look at their last season, out of seven games played, there were 56 explosive plays and I think a lot of that were some missed tackles along the way. So that’s why we spent a lot of time tackling in the preseason and we got to do a good job of getting him down.”

The Golden Gophers also return fifth-year senior quarterback Tanner Morgan, who led them to an 11-2 mark two years ago, finished as a second-team All-Big Ten selection and set a slew of season school records while doing it.

However, we live in a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” society and Morgan didn’t exactly light it up last year, throwing for 196 yards per game with seven touchdowns to five interceptions.

But Morgan will have the comfort of knowing that some serious beef will be up front to protect him from the slaughter as they return an experienced offensive line featuring five seniors and three returning starters that average 313 pounds.

Zach Harrison said that’s just one of a few things that jump out to him.

“They move well, they’re very fast, they move laterally and that’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.”

If there’s one thing we know about this year’s Buckeye defense, though, it’s that they have some question marks when it comes to some of the members of the front seven.

Having to replace four veteran linebackers from last year in Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard has been no easy task and question marks still remain as to who is going to start other than senior captain Teradja Mitchell, who will finally get his first opportunity on Thursday.

As for the other two linebackers that would line up next to him, Mitchell doesn’t know but Day said there are several candidates that could get the nod.

“I feel good about Tommy Eichenberg … and Dallas (Gant), Cody Simon and Steele Chambers, he’s gonna get in there. K’Vaughn Pope is gonna get in in some different spots. We have some depth there but … at some point, those guys gotta go in there and play and produce because they have some guys with some big shoes to fill.”

It may not be a good sign that Day and his staff haven’t found two other guys to officially flank Mitchell.

Or they know exactly who they’re going with and Day is playing coy. Either way, it should be interesting to see who hits the field on the first defensive set Thursday night.

And then there is the quandary of the middle of the defensive line.

Other than fifth-year senior Haskell Garrett, who earned first-team All-American honors last year and is a preseason first teamer this season, the Buckeyes are looking to lean on guys like Antwuan Jackson, Jerron Cage and Taron Vincent to get the job done. The three of them combined have 15 seasons of college football under their belt but only a combined 58 games played. Jackson leads with 23 followed by Cage (20) and then Vincent with 15. He played all eight games last year but was nagged by a lingering injury which caused him to miss virtually the entire 2019 season aside from one game.

That could mean the possibility of some more unproven yet talented first and second-year guys jumping into the mix like redshirt freshmen Ty Hamilton and Darrion Henry-Young and true freshmen Tyliek Williams and Michael Hall, Jr. And it’s probably time for redshirt sophomores like Jaden McKenzie and Noah Potter to step up, who have 11 total games between them, Potter with eight. However, Potter is making the switch from defensive end where he’s played the last two seasons.

However, Harrison said he feels his crew’s experience goes a long way, too.

“I feel like we’re an experienced D-line and it’s going to be a good matchup.”

If you ask P.J. Fleck what he thinks about his opponent, he’s got nothing but glowing remarks.

“They’re really talented,” he said. “I know people will take what I say and they’re the greatest I’ve seen that I’ve had to evaluate or play against on film. They are. They’re all in sync. It’s amazing that they have whoever the No. 5 guy is on their depth chart, because they play four at a time. They’re really good.”

Minnesota’s head coach said he knows he’s stating the obvious but it’s impossible not to.

“At every position they have depth and experience and they’ve got guys that are really, really talented. But again, they’re a really good football team. I think everybody knows that and that’s well-documented and well-deserved. We’ve got to be the best team we can be on Thursday night. That’s where my focus lies, and that’s what we’ll continue to focus on.”

The game kicks off Thursday at 8 p.m. and will air on FOX.

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