Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I didn't see a thread for this.  If there is one, please merge. 

This is a 7:30 game on NBC. 

Minnesota was #1 in the very first AP Poll on October 19, 1936 and won the AP NC that year but they haven't been ranked #1 since 1960. 

The Gophers have 18 all-time appearances at #1 which is good for a tie with Tennessee for #19 nationally.  This being Minnesota, when they hit their 18th appearance at #1 they were 4th in the nation behind only Notre Dame (46), Army (27), and Oklahoma (26).  They were well ahead of Ohio State (11) and the current all-time leader in appearances at #1 didn't make their first such appearance until November of the following year. 

Near as I can tell, Minnesota hasn't beaten #1 since shocking #1 Michigan on October 22, 1977.  That was so long ago that it was actually played in the old Brick House, pre Metrodome era. 

I'm not sure exactly what to make of the Gophers.  Their loss at Cal a couple weeks ago looked just awful at the time but they rebounded with a nice win over Rutgers and meanwhile Cal went all the way to the East Coast and took down Boston College so maybe that isn't a bad loss at all? 

Minnesota's three wins were home games against Buffalo, Northwestern State, and Rutgers so make of that what you will, who knows. 

Ohio State's defense has been stifling.  I saw a presser in which the had boat-rower commented that Washington did well because they scored 6 on the Buckeyes which is one more than the 5 that Ohio State is allowing on average.  The Ohio State offense has had some issues in short yardage and certainly hasn't been as explosive in the run game as they were last year but so long as the D is holding opponents to single-digits it really doesn't matter. 

Medina, that seems like a lot of, I'm not gonna say "worry", but concern over a game where the Vegas line is OSU -23.5.

Maybe Minnesota is better than we think? I dunno. All that might mean is that they lose by 14 instead of by 31... 

BTW after playing Minnesota, Cal lost 34-0 to San Diego State, who got blown out by Wazzu. And Boston College is 1-3, with their only win being over FCS Fordham. 

I'd still call that Cal loss a bad loss. 

Ohio State 34, Minnesota 7

Spilling beer is bad. Crying over it doesn't help. And the Gophers are going to need to dull the pain this Saturday, regardless of how they are feeling about the loss in Berkeley.

Medina, that seems like a lot of, I'm not gonna say "worry", but concern over a game where the Vegas line is OSU -23.5.

Maybe Minnesota is better than we think? I dunno. All that might mean is that they lose by 14 instead of by 31...

BTW after playing Minnesota, Cal lost 34-0 to San Diego State, who got blown out by Wazzu. And Boston College is 1-3, with their only win being over FCS Fordham.

I'd still call that Cal loss a bad loss.

As a fan I wouldn't say that I'm concerned.  It is more of a question of what is a "good" result in my mind.  If I just default to the Vegas line then:

• Losing would be a terrible upset
• Winning by <17 would be bad
• Winning by 17-31 would be 'meh'
• Winning by >31 would be good

I'm just trying to get a read on Minnesota here to calibrate my expectations.  

The series is incredibly lopsided.  Part of that is because, for some reason, Ohio State and Minnesota didn't play much in Ohio State's early days in the league which were Minnesota's heyday.  Among teams that have been in the league since Ohio State joined in 1913, the Buckeyes have less games against Minnesota than any of the others (this is 1913-2023 because Stassen isn't updated for 2024 yet):

• 105 Michigan
• 101 Illinois
• 92 Indiana
• 86 Wisconsin
• 80 Northwestern
• 66 Iowa
• 59 Purdue
• 55 Minnesota

In fact, Ohio State has played Michigan State almost as many times (51) as they have played Minnesota despite Michigan State not joining the league until ~40 years after Ohio State.  


Overall the Buckeyes lead the series 48-7 but more than half of Minnesota's wins came in the first 10 contests.  Minnesota won two of the first three, three of the first five, and four of the first nine.  

Ohio State joined the league for the 1913 season and won their first league title in 1916 but didn't play Minnesota until 1921.  In the 42 years from Ohio State joining the league in 1913 through 1964 the Buckeyes and Gophers only met 10 times.  Ohio State had a small 6-4 edge in those 10 games:

• 3-2 Buckeyes in Columbus with an average score of 21.4-12.6
• 3-2 Buckeyes in Minneapolis with an average score of 19.6-11.0

Since then the Buckeyes hold an immense 42-3 advantage with near video game average scores of 30-17 in Minneapolis and 37-9 in Columbus.  

The three Minnesota wins since 1949 were as follows:

• 17-7 in 1966 in Minneapolis:  This was a losing year for the Buckeyes (4-5) and the Gophers (4-5-1).  Woody's 1968 juggernaut was still in HS.  
• 35-31 in 1981 in Minneapolis:  Earle Bruce's third year as HC.  
• 29-17 in 2000 in Columbus:  This was Glenn Mason's best argument for the job at his alma mater but the Ohio State administration instead chose some D1A coach from Youngstown.  

The 1981 game was during Minnesota's last year before moving to the Metrodome so the Buckeyes were undefeated in that building and haven't yet lost in the new Brickhouse either.  


Overall, the Buckeyes lead the series 48-7 (.873).  That is Ohio State's second-best winning percentage against a conference opponent (excluding the recent additions) with only the .882 (80-9-4) against Indiana being better.  Since the Buckeyes and Gophers started playing semi-regularly in 1965 the Buckeyes are .933 against the Gophers (42-3) which is third-best for the Buckeyes against a conference opponent (still excluding recent additions) trailing only the .951 (48-2-1) against Indiana and .950 (38-2) against Northwestern.  

Now I understand the level of hate here.

😂😂