Buckeyes’ talent vs. Minnesota’s experience is story of season opener
In overly broad terms, Ohio State’s season opener Thursday against Minnesota can be characterized as talent vs. experience.
The Buckeyes are loaded at position after position but are starting a quarterback who will throw his first collegiate pass and breaking in a new set of linebackers.
Minnesota is projected to be a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big Ten West and has only a few players considered obvious stars. But the Golden Gophers return 20 of 22 starters, including third-year starter Tanner Morgan at quarterback.
Though the Buckeyes are a twotouchdown favorite, there’s plenty of apprehension about this game that probably would be lessened if the game were later in the season. Starting a new quarterback against a credible conference opponent in a hostile stadium is not the gimme most Ohio State openers are.
Ohio State has won 11 straight against the Gophers, last losing in 2000. The Buckeyes’ last trip to Minneapolis was in 2014 in 15-degree weather, and Ohio State was happy to depart with a 31-24 victory during its national championship season.
After a 2020 season played in stadiums devoid of fans because of COVID-19, the excitement of playing in a packed stadium is high for both teams.
“The anticipation playing a top-five team to open the season at Huntington Bank Stadium with the crowd being back for the first time, sellout crowd, it’s awesome,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said.
Ohio State doesn’t want the crowd to start sensing an upset. For that to happen, C.J. Stroud will have to minimize first-game jitters as he succeeds Justin Fields at quarterback. The redshirt freshman from California impressed teammates and coaches in winning the quarterback battle over Kyle Mccord and Jack Miller.
“First off, he’s a leader,” sophomore receiver Jaxon Smith-njigba said. “I feel like he took a big step from last year to this year, just speaking up. Everybody loves C.J.”
They’re going to see a competitor, a fighter, a guy who just wants to win and can sling the ball,” Smith-njigba said.
Coach Ryan Day said he has been impressed with Stroud’s ability to anticipate as well as his strong, accurate arm. Day rose in the coaching ranks by tutoring quarterbacks, and he likes to grill them on what they see and why they made the decisions they did. He said Stroud passes that test.
With the surrounding cast as strong as it is, Stroud doesn’t have to make spectacular plays. He has perhaps the two best receivers in the country in Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, with plenty of depth behind them. He has what should be a dominating offensive line. The Buckeyes are also deep at running back.
Assuming that Stroud plays the way he has practiced, Ohio State should be able to move the ball against a Minnesota defense short of star power.
The Buckeyes’ own defense was not up to Silver Bullets standards last year, particularly against the pass. Ohio State ranked 122nd in pass defense. Almost in unison, defensive players and coaches have talked about having a collective chip on their shoulders.
The strength of the Buckeyes’ defense is expected to be the front four, and it will be tested by Minnesota’s offensive line. The Gophers’ projected starters have a combined 140 career starts. Australian tackle Daniel Faalele, who once weighed 400 pounds on his 6-foot-9 frame before shedding some weight, gets most of the attention.
The Gophers will try to open holes for running back Mohamed Ibrahim, the Big Ten Running Back of the Year in 2020 for gaining for 1,076 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns in seven games.
Morgan will try to bounce back after a disappointing 2020 season. But he was quite good in 2019 when he set 11 Gopher records.
With Oregon awaiting next week, the Buckeyes have prepared all year knowing they can’t ease into the season.
“It impacts our urgency and everything that we do,” defensive backs coach Matt Barnes said. “(Minnesota) is an extremely well-coached football team. That is a very talented, veteran football team that plays hard. They do the little things right. We will have our work cut out for us.”
Brabinowitz@dispatch.com