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

Agreed.

But honestly if Minnesota is playing cover 1 man, I feel like the game plan for OSU should be simple. Line up Smith and Tate on opposite sides, and send both vertical to the boundary. Whichever way the safety helps, throw to the opposite side and just expect your guy to win.

I'm not a coach, obviously, but it seems simple.

If I'm the Minnesota coach, I throw out the cover 1 man idea entirely and force OSU to sustain drives, not give them big chunks. If you're married to man defense, at least make it cover 2 to give your safeties a fighting chance. I'd be more likely to go cover 3 zone.

Ultimately, they're $^#*@% either way. But if you can at least limit the big plays, you can hope for drives to get stalled out on holding penalties or other miscues. Or if nothing else, force OSU to score using up a lot of TOP to limit how badly you lose.

Well Thats exactly right.  if you go cover 2-you’re encouraging the run game because you don’t drop a Safety down in the box.  That’s why I’m guessing they’ll play cover one on early downs 

So far this year, Ohio State has been very content to start slow. Maybe protecting a young quarterback, but they seem way more comfortable with fewer possessions in the game than they used to be, but it has paid off for them probably because of their defense. 

Well Thats exactly right.  if you go cover 2-you’re encouraging the run game because you don’t drop a Safety down in the box.  That’s why I’m guessing they’ll play cover one on early downs 

So far this year, Ohio State has been very content to start slow. Maybe protecting a young quarterback, but they seem way more comfortable with fewer possessions in the game than they used to be, but it has paid off for them probably because of their defense. 

Well, the other aspect is that Ohio State just has better players. I'm not sure Minnesota can stop them running even if they play cover 1 man and sell out to stop the run. 

But if I'm the OSU OC, and I see Minnesota lining up cover 1 on early downs, I'm testing them deep on early downs on my first drive. 

The difference between shell and cover 1 for Minnesota might be the difference between being down 24-3 at half... And being down 21-0 at the end of the 1st quarter. 

Great time Saturday night in the Horseshoe. Carnell Tate with a great first half, catching 170 yds. Buckeyes definitely played up to their #1 ranking, effortlessly trouncing a decent Minnesota team who is better than the 42-3 final score indicates.