Ohio State’s special teams have (rightfully) been on the receiving end of much criticism up to this point, seemingly the lone weak link for the No. 1 team in the country.
Perhaps they got tired of being called not-so-special, because in Saturday’s win over Minnesota, a trick play from special teams surprised the Golden Gophers and Buckeye fans alike.
As someone who has been largely critical of the unit, I have to give them their flowers this week because at the very least, they tried something weird,
and it paid off. In fact, it was Ohio State’s longest punt return so far this season.
How it happened
In the third quarter of the game, Minnesota’s Tom Weston punted for the Golden Gophers. Brandon Inniss, who has struggled on punt returns for the Buckeyes this year (notably coughing up what would have otherwise been a great return last week against Washington, among other issues), made the catch at OSU’s 44-yard line and looked prepared to return it.
Instead, it was a moment of trickery, as Inniss threw a lateral pass to Lorenzo Styles. It’s worth noting that while Styles plays defensive back for the Buckeyes, he played wide receiver at Notre Dame before his transfer, so the play was well within his wheelhouse.
Styles carried the ball 36 yards, setting the Buckeyes up on the Minnesota 20-yard line to start their drive. Ohio State made the most of the field position: Bo Jackson got into the end zone just three plays later to bring the score to 28-3.
Watch Inniss and Styles pull off the return here:
