CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Four => Big Ten => Topic started by: medinabuckeye1 on October 01, 2025, 12:18:23 PM
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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.
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(https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p171565_p_v8_aa.jpg)
Gopher blood that is. Ohio State is going to murder them at home at night in the Shoe.
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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.
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Yeah, I'm afraid the border battle rivals are both traveling to their own respective beat downs at the hands of the conference's traditional helmet schools. Good luck, Gophers...you're going to need it.
(That Cal loss was a bad loss. But there's no use crying over spilled beer. Pour yourself another--you're going to need to take the edge off of this one.)
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Ohio State 34, Minnesota 7
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(But there's no use crying over spilled beer.)
You are wrong sir,that is alcohol abuse and in a spiritual sense practicing witchcraft and many don't take it lightly
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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.
:93:
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The "rancid" Cal team that lost 34-0 to SDSU and barely beat a "rancid" BC?
:57:
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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.
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The Goophs will run the ball--or at least try to--which may burn some clock and slow the bleeding. >31 would be real good, I think.
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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.
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Now I understand the level of hate here.
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Now I understand the level of hate here.
😂😂
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I'll be at this game. My buddy was in the Army and did something at Minnesota that made him want to go, but I can't remember what.
Gophers defense can be spry enough to keep things close, if OSU's issues in the red zone continue.
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Now I understand the level of hate here.
?
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Need to check your sarcasm meter.
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Badge, that's a strange way to say that your Badgers stink.
I have no expectations for this game. I'm fully expecting PJ ordering his team to turn turtle, just like the last time they went to the Shoe.
35-3 Bucks sounds right.
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Badge, that's a strange way to say that your Badgers stink.
I have no expectations for this game. I'm fully expecting PJ ordering his team to turn turtle, just like the last time they went to the Shoe.
35-3 Bucks sounds right.
After all these years you expect something different from me?
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(https://i.imgflip.com/11ndkd.jpg)
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I had some Gopher hate for a few weeks while I was in college, after Glen Mason spoiled a 5-0 OSU start. But then the losses began to pile up, and all of a sudden the Gophers didn't seem so bad anymore.
Mason nearly beat out Tressel in the offseason HC search, because of the upset.
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Gophers are strong on both lines. I think they slow the game down( Which Day is more willing to do quite a bit now because 1 he trusts the defense and 2 he is letting the QB grow into the job in a measured way- which I think is very wise). 27-13.
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Minnesota runs a lot more man coverage- cover 1 than most teams. It’s part of why they are so good against the run.
Will they dare OSU to beat them through the air? My bet is yes. Play a lot of man coverage- especially on early downs, move to 2 safeties or cover 2 on 3rd downs. Dare Sayin to beat man coverage early, prevent deep throws on 3rd downs. Sayin is VERY accurate- but as you can imagine, he doesn’t see much man coverage with those receivers and so like most quarterbacks, his accuracy is greater against a zone than man.
Interesting chess match.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbbF-nw7l1o
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Minnesota runs a lot more man coverage- cover 1 than most teams. It’s part of why they are so good against the run.
Will they dare OSU to beat them through the air? My bet is yes. Play a lot of man coverage- especially on early downs, move to 2 safeties or cover 2 on 3rd downs. Dare Sayin to beat man coverage early, prevent deep throws on 3rd downs. Sayin is VERY accurate- but as you can imagine, he doesn’t see much man coverage with those receivers and so like most quarterbacks, his accuracy is greater against a zone than man.
Interesting chess match.
not really.
there are a lot of NFL corners that couldn't cover Jeremiah Smith in man right now. Minnesota's corners have zero shot of taming that beast in man coverage.
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If they double team him, Tate will get targeted
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If they double team him, Tate will get targeted
double team the top 5 NFL draft pick WR so the other 1st rd WR will be singled up. sounds like a great game plan for the Minnesota defense. not.
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double team the top 5 NFL draft pick WR so the other 1st rd WR will be singled up. sounds like a great game plan for the Minnesota defense. not.
Well, they generally don’t double team receivers anymore. They play three over two or some kind of a bracket. Michigan does it all the time. Sometimes to one side of the field and sometimes to both sides. It’s a way to keep the long passing game from happening and keep everything in front of you.
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Well, they generally don’t double team receivers anymore. They play three over two or some kind of a bracket. Michigan does it all the time. Sometimes to one side of the field and sometimes to both sides. It’s a way to keep the long passing game from happening and keep everything in front of you.
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.
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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.
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by the way, both of these teams have shown notoriously slow scoring starts. I can see a game that’s 7 to 3 at halftime or something like that.
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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.
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After all these years you expect something different from me?
Nope.
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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.
(https://i.imgur.com/5msHMfA.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/oPfDxzU.png)
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I'm going to miss Matt Patricia after this season.
This didn't age well.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Aaw3WM4zRBA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkTlo4h1270