Ohio State vs. Minnesota Preview By Tony Gerdeman

Minnesota and Ohio State have met on 47 previous occasions, with the Buckeyes coming out on top 40 of those times. Ohio State has a 20-3 record in Columbus

The Buckeyes have won the last five meetings between the two schools, and the last time the Golden Gophers came to Columbus, they left on the down side of a 44-0 loss.

The Buckeyes are 58-23-4 all-time in conference openers. Jim Tressel is 6-1 in conference openers at Ohio State. Against the Big Ten, Tressel has compiled a 48-11 record in his seven-plus seasons.

Minnesota is 4-0 for the first time since 2005, and are 3-0 when playing on the Big Ten Network this year.

The Buckeyes are 382-105-20 all-time at Ohio Stadium.

When Minnesota Has The Ball

The Gophers’ “Spread Coast Offense” is starting to pick up steam, and it’s because of quarterback Adam Weber. Due to injuries and depth chart liquidity, there have been three running backs getting carries for Minnesota, but the constant through it all has been Weber.

Last season, Weber set a slew of passing records at Minnesota, and he looks to be on his way to more records this season. He is currently second in the conference in passing efficiency (164.84) and ninth in the nation in completion percentage (71.8%). He’s throwing for an average of 241.8 yards per game, and has seven touchdown passes to just one interception.

Weber isn’t running the ball as much as he did last season, as they are choosing to get the rest of the skill players involved as much as possible. Because of the way Weber is now distributing the ball, the Buckeyes will likely be employing a nickel package again, though with the way the Gophers run the ball, you can expect to see three linebackers on the field at times.

Sophomore safety Jermale Hines will once again be an important piece of the defensive puzzle. Hines’ ability to tackle in space and fight off blockers makes him invaluable against spread teams like Minnesota. The Buckeye cornerbacks will also be active at the line of scrimmage because Minnesota runs myriads of quick, wide passes, that rely on tenacious wide receiver blocking. If the Ohio State secondary cannot get off of receiver blocks, the Gophers will be able to move the ball.

Last season, Adam Weber was rarely sacked, but this season he has already been sacked six times, and that was done in the Gophers’ first three games. Weber’s desire to show himself as a passer has kept him in the pocket longer than perhaps his offensive line can manage.

While Adam Weber does like to spread the ball around, his number one target by far is receiver Eric Decker. Decker has caught 32 passes in the Gophers’ first four games for a 113.5 yard per game average.
He will get the ball all over the field, and also in the running game. There will be times when he’s lined up in the slot and Weber will run the option his way. Decker may be behind the line of scrimmage, or in front of it, and Weber will pitch it out to him when the opportunity arises.

Decker is one of the strongest receivers in the conference and will pose a great challenge for cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and Malcolm Jenkins.

Weber will also freely involve the running backs in the passing game. The number one running back emerging for the Gophers is true freshman DeLeon Eskridge. When starter Duane Bennett went down with an injury, Eskridge and fellow freshman Shady Salamon both stepped up as solid contributors.

Eskridge already has one 100-yard rushing game under his belt, running for 114 yards and three touchdowns against Montana State. Both Elkridge (5’11” 190) and Salamon (5’10” 185) are quick and capable of multiple moves at any moment. It is this running game, aided by Weber, which may make it imperative for the Buckeyes to keep three linebackers on the field during the early downs.

The Minnesota special teams have done very well this season. Chief among the successes has been freshman Troy Stoudermire and his 30.7 yard average on kick returns. His long is only 48 yards, so his consistency is fairly amazing.

The punt returns are manned by Marcus Sherels, and he’s averaging 11.8 yards per return with a long of 34. After a tale of two halves by Buckeye punter A.J. Trapasso last week, he will need to show the consistency that is the hallmark of a Jim Tressel special teams.

Because of Minnesota’s remarkable red zone offense (14 touchdowns and one field goal in 16 trips), place-kicker Joel Monroe has only attempted three field goals this season, making two. He’s been around for a while now and had a long of 54 yards last season.

Punter Justin Kucek is averaging 42.2 yards per punt, putting eight of his 21 punts inside the 20-yard line.

When Ohio State Has The Ball

Even though it appears (“barring any setbacks”) that running back Chris Wells is returning for the Buckeyes this week, the story continues to be freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Last week against Troy, Pryor set a freshman Buckeye record with four touchdown passes. This week, he’ll be facing a defense that has eight interceptions in just four games. Each starting member of the secondary has at least one interception already this season. Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster has already openly and brazenly stated that Terrelle Pryor does not concern him as a passer. Don’t expect those words to have gone unnoticed by the Buckeyes this week.

Minnesota is employing a more aggressive defense under new coordinator Ted Roof, so expect Terrelle Pryor to see things he hasn’t seen before. Of course, with this aggressive defense, there will undoubtedly be times when Pryor escapes containment. When this happens, there may be nobody around to keep him from picking up twenty yards on the scramble. And when Minnesota brings somebody up to stop the scramble before it gets started, that means there’s one less defender down field.

For the first time this season (“barring any setbacks”) we will get to see Terrelle Pryor and Chris Wells in the backfield together for an extended period of time. It will be interesting to see how Wells is utilized in the new, more shotgun-oriented attack. Expect to see Wells given the ball out of the I-formation and single-back formation, or via the Pistol formation, which allows Pryor to get the ball in the shotgun, while keeping the I-formation principles with which Wells excels.

Pryor and the Buckeyes are currently the holders of the 104th-rated passing offense in the nation. At some point, Pryor is going to be forced to beat an opponent in the pocket. It may not come this week, but eventually Pryor is going to face an aggressive, disciplined defense, and his arm will have to lead him.

The Gophers have six sacks so far this season, and they’ve been getting pressure from all angles. Defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, defensive tackle Barrett Moen and linebacker Simoni Lawrence are all tied for the team lead in sacks with 1.5.

Safety Tramaine Brock leads the Gophers with 28 tackles, which is seven more than anybody else. His 21 solo tackles are also seven more than anybody else. The other safety, Kyle Theret, is third on the team in tackles with 19. The fact that the two starting safeties are at the top of the tackle leaders tells you there is room behind the linebackers on this defense.

The Gophers have been giving up 354.8 yards per game on defense, including a whopping 245 yards through the air. Minnesota’s aggression giveth, when it isn’t taking away.

There will be room for Pryor to complete passes this week, but the Gophers are going to disguise their packages and try to get him in uncomfortable situations. Of course, if Pryor does get uncomfortable, then he starts relying on his feet, which are his best assets.

The Ohio State special teams continue to be average. The kick return game is non-existent, as is the punt return game when Ray Small is on the sidelines. Punter A.J. Trapasso had a tremendous second half last week and if he can build on that for the rest of the season, the Buckeyes will be in good shape. The place-kicking continues to be solid, but in the back of Buckeye nation’s collective mind, folks are always waiting for a placement to be blocked.

How It’ll End Up

Terrelle Pryor and Chris Wells will prove to be a dynamic combination, and with the addition of Boom Herron in the mix, the Buckeyes will be able to change the pace repeatedly throughout the game.

Wells will carry the ball about 15 times and will show his worth deep inside the red zone.

Pryor will again look good going downfield, and he’ll rush for another 60 yards or so.

The Buckeyes will get some young receivers involved, so expect one of them to reach the end zone at some point.

Minnesota will move the ball between the 30-yard lines, as most spread teams do. They will not experience their normal redzone successes, however.

The Buckeyes will tackle well, forcing Adam Weber to take more chances. The Ohio State defense will force Weber to make mistakes, and they will capitalize on them.

Malcolm Jenkins will get his third career interception against Minnesota.

The Ohio State offense will look very good at times and Chris Wells will provide a calming influence for Terrelle Pryor. It will be that calming influence that allows Pryor to throw for three more touchdowns this week.

After the game, Tim Brewster will mention the reason he said that Pryor’s passing didn’t scare him was because he wasn’t the one that had to play safety.

Ohio State 31 - Minnesota 16

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