Game Time: 8:00 EDT, Thursday, September 2nd, 2021

Venue:  TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Where to Watch:  Fox

Moneyline:  OSU: -700, Minn +470

Spread: OSU -13.5 (-114), MINN +13.5 (-106)

Total: 65.5, Over -110, Under -110

Ohio State:  0-0, First Game of The Season!! Defending Big-Ten Champs

Minnesota:  0-0, First game of the Season!! Big Ten

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Ohio State was 7-1 in 2020.  The season shortened by Covid was the fourth in a row they won the Big-Ten conference.  They won the Sugar Bowl then lost the College Football Championship to Alabama 52-24.  The Ohio State Buckeyes are a team at the top of college football.  They win and win and win 13-1 in 2019, 13-1 in 2018, 12-2 in 2017… regardless what is happening with conference realignment we know Ohio State should be and expects to be good.  The only bump that might hit them this year is  the change at Quarterback.  Will it work out with CJ as it did with Justin or will the world be shocked by an early loss?

 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were 3-4 last year as they spun out in a topsy turvy, shortened season.  The year before (2019) they went 11-2 and contended.  They got a 2019 invite to the Outback Steakhouse Bowl where they beat Auburn 31-24.  Minnesota last beat Ohio State Oct 13th, 2000.  That was 12 games ago and that Minnesota win was a surprise upset. 

  

Fresh off a National Championship Game loss.  The Buckeyes will install CJ Stroud a 6’2 194 lb, Sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga Ca.  He is an all around athlete having been a star in high school in both football and basketball.  Last season they posted 41 points per game and a staggering 519.4 yards per game.  Even if CJ stumbles a bit the team as a whole is way too talented.

 

Minnesota news to show a lot of improvement over last season.  The Gophers scored 27.3 points a game and an underwhelming 391 yards per game last season and are returning the same quarterback.  They are betting on a year older a year better since they are returning so many starters in key positions… but c’mon a lot of teams can say that after the eligibility extension given for everyone because of Covid.  They may have some 6th year guys but so will everyone.

 

Ohio State had the best total Defense in 2019 and then dropped to 60th in 2020.  They still went to the National Championship game though… so it was a drop that didn’t affect the win column any.  Still, they have to improve on those numbers if the offense without Justin Fields doesn’t score at the same rate as the offense with.  The 2021 draft seems to have gutted the Ohio State defense losing all 4 of their top rated linebackers.  The number one defense from 2019 has now contributed every single one of it’s starters to the NFL.  Pretty impressive.  However this is a top flight program and there are of course new studs coming.  Defensive Coordinator Kerry Coombs will spin this re-mix with top flight recruits that have been waiting in the wings.

 

Minnesota’s run defense was a problem last year.  They will need to fix that quickly before Ohio State comes to town.  PJ Fleck is known for his team’s scoring prowess… not necessarily their run defense.  Their overall plan seems to be to improve the guys they had last year instead of searching out some guys through the transfer portal.  This is a mistake.  

Ohio State is still Ohio State no matter how much shine we give Minnesota in predicting they recover to 2019 form.  The only hope of Minnesota getting an upset in this one is if Minn starting quarterback Tanner Morgan outplays CJ Stroud greatly because of experience.  Tanner had a very disappointing 2020.  Morgan regressed in every statistical category in 2020 completing just 57% of his passes and dropping the Gophers to 92nd in the country in passing offense.  That won’t work against Ohio State’s Defense.  

 

The Prediction for Ohio State Vs Minnesota Thursday, Sept 2nd, 2021 :  

      Ohio State 54 Minnesota 12 

 

The Gophers have lost 11 straight games to Ohio State (counting the vacated 2010 game)

Minnesota is 4-1 in their last 5 games against the spread.

Ohio State is 2-3 in their last five games against the spread

Ohio State is 9-0 in their last 9 games on the road. (regular season)

Minnesota is 2-4 in their last 6 games played on a Thursday

 

 

Ohio State:  CJ Stroud, The young man, has won the starting job as the Buckeyes QB.  He has to try and fill Justin Fields' shoes.  Justin Fields was perhaps the best quarterback to ever play for the Buckeyes and he has moved on to the pros.  OSU fans will be watching Justin play for the Chicago Bears on Sundays hoping he gets some wins… They’ll be watching C.J. Stroud on Saturdays (in this case Thursday) expecting him to win every game.  Such are the expectations.

Minnesota:  Running Back Mohamed Ibrahim returns for a redshirt Senior season.  He averaged 153.7 yards per game last season and finished third team all-American. And he’ll be rushing behind an offensive line that has FIVE returning starters. Mohamed had 15 touchdowns in 7 games last season.  Imagine his output with a full 2021.  Although it is odd that he didn’t make himself available for the NFL draft.

 

“I tell the guys all the time that we have to (meet those expectations). That’s the desperation we have to wake up with every day as a coaching staff, as players. I tell the guys all the time I wake up scared that people want what we have.”  - Ryan Day,  Ohio State head coach.

“Well, we're in year five. When you reflect back on what we've done in the last four years, hopefully everything we said we were going to do, well, not everything that we said we're going to do, but everything we said we wanted. I hope it's very clear that everybody sees that.”  - PJ Fleck, Minnesota head coach.

 

 

Ohio State

QB  CJ Stroud

RB  Master Teague III

WR  Garrett Wilson 

WR Chris Olave

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

LT  Thayer Munford

LG  Harry Miller

C  Luke Wypler

RG Paris Johnson Jr

RT  Nicholas Petit-Frere

TE  Jeremy Ruckert

Minnesota

QB Tanner Morgan

RB  Mohamed Ibrahim

WR Dylan Wright

WR Chris Autumn-Bell

WR Daniel Jackson

LT  Sam Schlueter

LG  Blaise Andries

C  John Michael Schmitz

RG Conner Olson

RT Daniel  Faalele

TE  Ko Kieft

 

 

Ohio State (2020)

Justin Fields , Passing 2,100 yards, 70% completion, 22 TD 6 INT

Trey Sermon, Rushing, 870 yards, 7.5 per carry, 4 TD

Chris Olave,  Receiving, 729 yards, 14.6 yards per catch, 7 TD

 

MN

Tanner Morgan, Passing 1,374 yards, 57% completion, 7 TD 5 INT

Mohamed Ibrahim,  Rushing 1,076, 5.4 per carry, 15 TD

Rashod Bateman, Receiving 472 yards, 13 yards per, 2 TD

 

Coaches:

Ohio State: Ryan Day,  3rd season

Minnesota: PJ Fleck, 5th season

    * These coaches shared the Big Ten’s Coach of the Year Award in 2019*

 

40% chance of precipitation, high of 74 degrees, wind of 10-15 mph.