Ohio State vs. Minnesota Preview
By Tony Gerdeman

This will be the 46th meeting all-time between Ohio State and Minnesota. The Buckeyes hold the series advantage 38-7

The first meeting between the two schools took place on October 15, 1921, with the Buckeyes shutting the Gophers out 27-0.

The Gophers come into this game with a record of 3-5, including 0-4 in the Big Ten.

Ohio State is 8-0 and in the midst of the nation’s longest winning streak (fifteen games). The streak is the third longest in school history.

Fifteen Buckeye teams have started out 8-0. Only nine of them made it to 9-0.

The Buckeye defense is leading the nation in scoring defense, at 8.2 points per game. They have an average margin of victory of 26.7 points per game this season.

Jim Tressel is 3-0 against the Gophers as head coach of the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is 59-8-1 all-time when ranked number one.

When Minnesota Has the Ball

Under head coach Glen Mason, the Gophers have been known as a running team. In last year’s game, however, quarterback Bryan Cupito passed for 396 yards on 25-36 passing against the Buckeyes.

Without the same threat to run as last season, don’t expect those same numbers.

Cupito is a solid quarterback who trusts his receivers to make plays. He will throw the ball to a spot and expect his receivers to do something with it when they catch it.

This year, however, the Gophers are having a little tougher time making those plays.

Cupito is still playing well. He’s fourth in the conference in passing efficiency at 134.12. He’s throwing for nearly 200 yards per game, with eleven touchdowns and four interceptions.

While Cupito still likes to look downfield, he doesn’t do it with such abandon this season.

Last season, Cupito was perfectly happy chucking the ball down the sideline and letting receiver Ernie Wheelwright battle for the ball. This year, however, Wheelwright is somewhat of a forgotten man. He only has seventeen receptions on the season and is only averaging ten yards per catch, and hasn’t yet found the end zone.

In Wheelwright’s stead, Cupito has latched on to receiver Logan Payne and tight end Matt Spaeth.

Payne is tied with Spaeth with the team lead of 35 receptions, but he is all alone with his team leading 468 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.

Payne is Cupito’s aggressive security blanket. Spaeth is his passive security blanket.

Logan Payne is very good, and is very precise. He will get open and have some success against the Buckeye secondary where seemingly better receivers have not.

However, when he does get the ball, expect reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Antonio Smith to be there to wrap him up.

The corners and safeties for the Buckeyes will be fine. Don’t expect 396 more yards from Cupito this year. If the Gophers go to the long ball again, expect to see safety Brandon Mitchell or cornerback Donald Washington coming down with the interception. This is a ball-hawking defense, and they would welcome the deep throws.

There are also two freshman receivers coming onto the scene for Minnesota in Eric Decker and Mike Chambers. Both have good size and have given Glen Mason plenty of options with regards to personnel.

Don’t expect the Gophers to open in four-wides, however, because they are still a power running team.

The Buckeyes will probably start out with their base 4-3 for only the third time this season. They usually open in nickel, but with the Gophers’ desire to run the ball, the Buckeyes will want to have three linebackers out there.

Running back Amir Pinnix is similar to Buckeye back Antonio Pittman in that they are both very adept at the cutback. Because of this, outside linebackers John Kerr and Marcus Freeman need to be ready.

Pinnix is averaging 93.4 yards rushing per game this season, and has scored six times. He will get the bulk of the carries. Glen Mason would love to get him 25 carries on Saturday, but that will be dependant upon the score of the game. Even if they aren’t successful running the ball, Mason will keep trying if the score is close.

While Pinnix is the cutback runner, Alex Daniels is the power runner. At 260 pounds, he’s a pretty imposing figure carrying the football. However, he doesn’t get too many carries anymore, as Mason has gained more and more trust in Pinnix.

Except for the Wisconsin game a couple of weeks ago, the Gophers have started the same offensive line all season long. It’s a group made up of juniors and seniors, save for freshman Nedward Tavale at right guard.

It’s an active line that needs to be mobile to make their scheme work. It will be up to the Buckeye front four to keep Minnesota from controlling the line of scrimmage. With defensive tackle David Patterson back at full go this week, the middle of the defensive line should be more than ready.

With Patterson’s absence over the last two weeks, the Buckeyes have still been tremendous. For the season, they are giving up 8.2 points per game and allowing 270 yards of offense per game. Over the last two games, they have given up ten total points and only 300 yards combined to Michigan State and Indiana.

Defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock is third in the league with seven sacks. The middle of the line for the Gophers features three first-year starters. And while they aren’t too wet behind the ears, Pitcock presents a tough match up for even a fifth-year All American. Expect to see Pitcock wreaking the usual havoc.

Gopher quarterbacks have been sacked thirteen times on the season. Defensive ends Jay Richardson and Vernon Gholston will contribute to increasing that total.

Punting the ball for Minnesota will be sophomore Justin Kucek. He is averaging 38.9 yards per kick this season. His long for the season is 59 yards.

Handling the placements will be Jason Giannini. He’s 6-9 kicking field goals this season, missing from 51, 52, and 40. He’s 25-27 on extra points on the season.

Joel Monroe handles the kickoffs. He has a bigger leg than Giannini and has put fifteen of his 38 kicks into the end zone for touchbacks.

Cornerback Dominic Jones takes care of the return duties for Minnesota, and he excels at both. He’s third in the conference in kickoff returns, at 25.1 yards per return and second in punt returns at 11.2 yards per return. He has a 99-yard kickoff return to his credit.

When Ohio State Has the Ball

The Buckeyes are leading the conference in scoring, at 34.9 points per game.

Obviously, that begins with quarterback Troy Smith.

Smith leads the conference with 21 touchdown passes, which is seven more than the number two guy. Last week against the Hoosiers, he passed for four touchdowns in the first half, and if he hadn’t started slow, it could have been worse.

The Gophers are giving up 22.8 points per game this season, including 42 points to Cal and 48 to Wisconsin.

If the Buckeyes want to approach those numbers, they can do it in a variety of ways.

Recently, the Buckeyes have come out throwing the ball. And recently, the Buckeyes have had to punt on their opening drives. This being the case, perhaps the Buckeyes will choose to establish the run first.

It wouldn’t be a bad decision. The Gophers are giving up nearly 170 yards rushing per game.

Minnesota has allowed six running backs to top 100 yards against them this season, including backs from Kent State and North Dakota State.

Michigan’s Michael Hart rushed for 195 yards; Penn State’s Tony Hunt rushed for 144 yards; and Wisconsin’s P.J. Hill rushed for 164 yards against the Gophers. Expect Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman to reach the century mark in fairly easy fashion. That doesn’t mean he will have a huge day, it just means he will have a light load and still top a hundred.

Backup running back Chris Wells looks to be in for a good day as well. He should get the bulk of the load in the fourth quarter, so he may approach his first 100-yard game.

Trying to contain the running attack will be an undersized defensive line. The Gopher defensive tackles average about 280 pounds per man. They are going to be mauled by an Ohio State offensive line that is as healthy as it has been all season.

So, while the defensive line is tied up with the offensive line, it will be up to middle linebacker Mike Sherels to try to keep the running backs from getting into the secondary. Sherels is averaging eight tackles per game, and will have plenty of opportunity to better that average.

The Gophers aren’t just small up the middle, they’re also a little light on the edges. Defensive ends Willie Van De Steeg (6’4” 255) and Steve Davis (6’2” 235) both have speed to counter their size mismatches. Van De Steeg leads the team with four sacks, and Davis is right behind him with 3.5.

Earlier in the season, a pair of ends like this may have given tackles Alex Boone and Kirk Barton a little bit of a trouble, but not anymore.

Troy Smith should have plenty of time to throw, which spells doom in capital letters for the Gophers.

Receivers Anthony Gonzalez (591 yards) and Ted Ginn (589 yards) are first and second in the league in total receiving yards; and don’t look for them to relinquish their positions after facing a defense that allows 223 yards passing per game.

And that number would be higher if teams weren’t having such a grand old time running the ball.

Last week, the Buckeye tight ends scored three touchdowns. Don’t be surprised if the tight ends are put into storage until Michigan week.

Against Indiana last week, place kicker Aaron Pettrey missed his first extra point of the season, leaving him 35-36 on the year. He did, however, knock in a 51-yard field goal that would have been good from 60. After nursing a sore hip, he looks to have most of his leg strength back.

Punter A.J. Trapasso has yet to have a monster game, but honestly, has anybody noticed?

Ted Ginn currently leads the conference in punt returns, averaging 12.7 yards per return. He has struggled to find any space on kick returns, but perhaps Minnesota will be the perfect remedy for him, as he returned a kickoff 100 yards against them last season.

How It’ll End Up

In an effort to get Troy Smith some more statistics, the Buckeyes won’t just rush it 85% of the time—even though they could.

Smith will throw for three more touchdowns. One each to Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall.

Antonio Pittman will finish with around seventeen carries for 120 yards.

Chris Wells will have around 80 yards on the Buckeyes final clock-killing drive of the game. Coach Tressel will try to get him 100. Whether Wells will fumble on that drive remains to be seen.

Bryan Cupito, having only thrown four interceptions on the season, will throw two on Saturday. His backup, not wanting to be left out, will also throw an interception.

Cornerback Donald Washington, in an effort to keep pace with teammate Andre Amos on the career interception list, will record his first interception.

And Jack Nicklaus will dot the I, but sadly will not be carrying a sousaphone when he does it.

Ohio State 45 – Minnesota 10

Return to the-Ozone Columns and Features

Return to the-OZone Front Page