Before every Ohio State football game, Matt Tamanini will get you ready with all of the information that you need for that day’s game on the “Land-Grant Tailgate” podcast.
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No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (-23.5) vs. Minnesota | over/under 42.5
Game Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Location:
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.1 FM/1460 AM
Based on what we have seen so far this season from the Ohio State defense, I don’t think that there is a team in the country
that can score enough points to beat the Buckeyes. This defense has been electric, terrifying, and confounding, and I think that will only get worse after today, as I believe that they will unlock a heretofore unseen aspect of their attack.
OSU’s first four opponents have all, to varying degrees, had mobile quarterbacks; so we have not seen defensive coordinator Matt Patricia really do much with the pass rush. He has been extremely creative in how he has used the secondary and the linebackers, but we haven’t yet seen anything exotic from the defensive line or anything truly funky when it comes to blitzes.
Unlike the previous four quarterbacks that the Buckeyes have faced, Drake Lindsey is not going to scare you with his ability to escape the pocket. While he can avoid pressure to a certain degree, he is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, and has rushed for -25 yards on the season.
I think that this will be an opportunity for Patricia and the Silver Bullets to try some things out and put some stuff on film as they prepare to face higher-quality pocket passers, Luke Altmyer and Drew Allar of Illinois and Penn State, respectively.
Through four games, Minnesota has given up seven sacks, but I think that number will double today, as the law firm of Caden and Kayden, with some help from associates Downs, Styles, and Reese, will hound Lindsey all night.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes still have some things to work out. The Gophers’ strength is in their rush defense, at least statistically, so I think this is the game where we finally see Bo Jackson take the bulk of the carries and assert himself as RB1. It might not be 75% Bo and 25% C.J. Donaldson and James Peoples, but I would not be surprised if the true freshman gets 2:1 the carries of the other backs combined.
After outrushing Washington’s Jonah Coleman last week, I think Bo will get his third 100-yard game of the year and will hit a new career high with 125 yards on the ground.
There has been a bizarre amount of talk this week from random national media talking heads assuming that Ryan Day and Brian Hartline don’t trust Julian Sayin, or at least not enough to let him throw downfield. Personally, I don’t think that could be further from the truth. Since the start of last season, Day has been exceptionally focused and disciplined when it comes to the plan that he has laid out for his team. Yes, if things get off track, he has shown an ability to course-correct, but if things are progressing according to schedule, he has followed the plan religiously, and I just think that is exactly what he is doing with Sayin.
Day is gradually giving his first-time starting quarterback more and more responsibility in the passing game, focusing on different aspects of the offense each week. I have no doubt that, as Sayin, who obviously has not been perfect thus far, continues to grow and get comfortable with what the coaches throw at him, we will see more of the Ohio State offense’s signature explosiveness.
And it might start tonight. The Minnesota defense allowed Rutgers veteran Athan Kaliakmanis to throw for 249 yards and Cal true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to throw for 279. If given the opportunity, I am confident that Sayin will be able to open things up and find Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate deep down the field.
I think Sayin will have his third 300-yard passing game of the season, and it will include three passes that travel 40+ yards through the air.
Matt’s Predictions: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 3
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