From a respectful Buckeye fan: How Gophers can win on Sat

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Unbiasedbuckeye

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Not here to troll guys. I'm just a Buckeye fan who really enjoys talking with other Big Ten folks (except that team up north). Many Ohio State fans are dismissing the Gophers, but I think there are a few ways Minnesota can pull out the W.

Here is what needs to happen
1. Significant snow storm with winds that will make passing very undesirable. I know you guys have capable corners, but you don't want to test Devin Smith or Michael Thomas deep. MSU found out the hard way. Ohio State also has 2 very good TE's who will be playing on Sundays, although they do not get featured nearly enough. Once Ohio State gets their play action pass working they are almost impossible to stop. Once the linebackers have to start honoring the pass, the Ohio State zone read becomes virtually impossible to slow down...... However, very wet and windy conditions will force Ohio State to abandon the pass. This is a situation that favors Minnesota. Ohio State has a good stable of running backs, but fumbles have been a problem. If Ohio State has to run it 60 times they will put the ball on the ground a couple times and Minnesota can take advantage. Ohio State is still a very young offense (most starters are Fresh/Soph) and they have never played in conditions like we could potentially see on Saturday.

2. On offense you guys need to double team Joey Bosa every play and incorporate some triple option plays. Navy gave OSU fits, but few teams have tried to duplicate what Navy did. Commit to the run game and don't worry about trick passing plays, wide receiver reverses, or any other type of gimmick. Ohio State has explosive LB's, but not any depth at the position. Try to wear down the linebackers and pray one of them gets injured. The backup linebackers are pretty paltry, which is why Urban avoids playing them at all costs. We had to play some against Navy and they got exposed frequently. Huge advantage to Minnesota if this happens. In summary, don't focus on fooling Ohio State. It won't work. Grind away at Ohio State and test their will power/depth.

All this being said, if the conditions on Saturday are decent and permit Ohio State to pass I'm not sure how you guys will win. You guys have a great team, but when Ohio State can pass they can kill a team in about a million ways..... But if the conditions are just awful and the wind is 35+ mph I predict this: Ohio State will not be explosive and they will be in the fight of their life. Regardless of outcome, best of luck to you guys and thanks for beating the tar out of that team up north. Love what Kill is doing and hope MN football continues their upward trajectory!
 

thanks

I just went ahead and ate my game tickets ala Homer Simpson. you just saved me a wasted saturday.
 

1. We have better corners than MSU, no fly zone was last year. We have not done a good job on running qbs. Your WRs are not better than tcu who we kept under control. That said, Barrett is so accurate right now, he can beat good coverage.

2. We aren't a triple option team. Osu run defense is nothing special per your fans. We will run our base offense,try to grind out drives and hit some play action and misdirection. It's a tough offense to prepare for since you haven't seen anything like it.

good post and hope for a well played game
 

I agree that triple option looks and stuff to the outside zone running plays will work if you can get the ends to crash down and the linebackers to be undisciplined. We do not run the triple option stuff but we can show some looks and work some plays out of it, but it is not likely the Gophers will get away from their base offense, and not try to do what they do well. I think our defense is going to be up to the challenge of playing on Saturday, where the Gophers are at their best is the defensive secondary so I am sure they are fired up for the challenge. We have a good secondary with the exception of the field position against TCU the secondary was very much in position to make plays and they have improved since that game.
Field position and ball control as always will be important. OSU has a lot of guys that will play in the NFL on Sundays on defense and a QB that is proving he can sling the rock but they are not invincible. Defensive line for the Gophers have to get those hands up and jump in the passing lanes.
They OSU are beatable even if most do not believe that, it will be a tough challenge. Cobb pitching to Maxx Williams off a zone read to the strong side would work well against this defense because of how quick they get up the field and how much that defensive end likes to crash down on the run. I see that the outside zone stuff and quick wide receiver passes as available because of how stout the defensive tackles are. #5 Strevlar might be able to run some zone read stuff if he can get to the edge and pick up some yards too. Obviously the Gophers are stepping up but I like our chances to win Saturday even if most don't think so, the Gophers can win this football game, it will be a tough physical football game but I think our guys are excited at the chance to knock off a big dog. I'm happy our guy's are going to be playing off there best game of the season and perhaps the best game they have played since this current coaching staff took over. To me this means our guys are not going to be intimidated and think they can play and that is half the battle.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I agree that triple option looks and stuff to the outside zone running plays will work if you can get the ends to crash down and the linebackers to be undisciplined. We do not run the triple option stuff but we can show some looks and work some plays out of it but it is not likely the Gophers will get away from there base offense and not try to do what they do well. I think our defense is going to be up to the challenge of playing on Saturday, where the Gophers are at there best is th defensive secondary so I am sure they are fired up for the challenge.
Field position and ball control as always will be important. OSU has a lot of guys that will play in the NFL on Sundays on defense and a QB that is proving he can sling the rock but they are not invincible. They are beatable even if most do not believe that. Cobb pitching to Maxx Williams off a zone read to the strong side would work well against this defense because of how quick they get up the field and how much that defensive end likes to crash down on the run. I see that the outside zone stuff and quick wide receiver passes as available because of how stout the defensive tackles are. #5 Strevlar might be able to run some zone read stuff if he can get to the edge and pick up some yards too.
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Don't get me wrong, I love Strevy, but if he is playing a lot, the game is either going very good or very bad.
 


Agree with you. MSU no fly zone is not having a good year. TCU may have better WRs, but OSU has better TEs and H-backs that can really catch. Regardless, we know MN will make life difficult in receiving game. I know you guys aren't triple option, but you should attack the OSU run D with the same ferocity that Navy did. Navy just grinded it out and found some real success (they also killed themselves with turnovers). If MN can play a turnover free game I could easily see them putting up between 28-35 points.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I agree that triple option looks and stuff to the outside zone running plays will work if you can get the ends to crash down and the linebackers to be undisciplined. We do not run the triple option stuff but we can show some looks and work some plays out of it, but it is not likely the Gophers will get away from their base offense, and not try to do what they do well. I think our defense is going to be up to the challenge of playing on Saturday, where the Gophers are at their best is the defensive secondary so I am sure they are fired up for the challenge. We have a good secondary with the exception of the field position against TCU the secondary was very much in position to make plays and they have improved since that game.
Field position and ball control as always will be important. OSU has a lot of guys that will play in the NFL on Sundays on defense and a QB that is proving he can sling the rock but they are not invincible. Defensive line for the Gophers have to get those hands up and jump in the passing lanes.
They OSU are beatable even if most do not believe that, it will be a tough challenge. Cobb pitching to Maxx Williams off a zone read to the strong side would work well against this defense because of how quick they get up the field and how much that defensive end likes to crash down on the run. I see that the outside zone stuff and quick wide receiver passes as available because of how stout the defensive tackles are. #5 Strevlar might be able to run some zone read stuff if he can get to the edge and pick up some yards too. Obviously the Gophers are stepping up but I like our chances to win Saturday even if most don't think so, the Gophers can win this football game, it will be a tough physical football game but I think our guys are excited at the chance to knock off a big dog. I'm happy our guy's are going to be playing off there best game of the season and perhaps the best game they have played since this current coaching staff took over. To me this means our guys are not going to be intimidated and think they can play and that is half the battle.
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Very good analysis. Getting the ball out quick will neutralize the inevitable OSU penetration. That is what frustrates our D the most. Our corners didn't tackle well last weekend and there are yards to be gained there. Our WLB is also very slow in diagnosing plays to the edge. I think MN can take advantage there. I know I would.
 

If I read the OP correctly the only way the Gophers win is:
A) A snowstorm because snow is kryptonite to the Buckeyes supermen
B) A slew of injuries to the BUckeyes forces them to venture into the 3-deeps

Got it. I think I'll show up Saturday anyway.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
If I read the OP correctly the only way the Gophers win is:
A) A snowstorm because snow is kryptonite to the Buckeyes supermen
B) A slew of injuries to the BUckeyes forces them to venture into the 3-deeps

Got it. I think I'll show up Saturday anyway.
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Ha... was about to post the same thing.
 



The Gophers held TCU to their lowest point total of the season, on the road, and after turning the ball over 5 times. If Ohio State thinks they're going to roll into the bank and put up 50, they're in for a rude awakening. Ohio State won't score more than 30 this weekend, and that in itself will keep the Gophers in the game until the end.
 

Its actually pretty simple. If we can consistently run the ball and not turn the ball over, the game will be in reach. If our LBs and DBs fit well against the run we'll hold our own on D. The big question is this: how will our back 7 hold up in zone? We love to play man and play it well. However you can't play much straight man against a running QB because backs to the LOS will get you killed. We'll likely mix in some combo coverages with Murray manned up on the boundary but we'll likely play more zone than we have all year and that's the thing that worries me in the passing game.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The Gophers held TCU to their lowest point total of the season, on the road, and after turning the ball over 5 times. If Ohio State thinks they're going to roll into the bank and put up 50, they're in for a rude awakening. Ohio State won't score more than 30 this weekend, and that in itself will keep the Gophers in the game until the end.
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Well, Purdue rolled up 38 on us so I don't think we should be setting OSU's under at 29. Football isn't a linear foot race, it is a game of probabilities. How our gameplan and execution matches OSU's has more to do with the outcome than the weather. They will probably win and they will probably score 30. This year's gopher team is not good enough for us to say anything otherwise, but this year's team (unlike most in the past) does have a chance in a game like this. Even with "normal" weather.
 

Unbiasedbuckeye said:
Very good analysis. Getting the ball out quick will neutralize the inevitable OSU penetration. That is what frustrates our D the most. Our corners didn't tackle well last weekend and there are yards to be gained there. Our WLB is also very slow in diagnosing plays to the edge. I think MN can take advantage there. I know I would.
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Having seen several MN/Ohio State games under Tressel; he always brought his "vanilla package" to town and just depended on the physicality and better/deeper positions. They executed fine. Even when we knew what they would do, you could always count on them coming out ahead on the match-ups. Tressel never really respected us as a team and it seemed to serve them well.

I'm planning on Meyer bringing the same attitude to TCF on Saturday. I expect a lot up the middle with some QB keeps and a couple long balls in man/man situations. This is business as usual for OSU, but this game is huge for us. If we can get in your backfield (which we've been able to do so far), I think it will be surprisingly close.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
The Gophers held TCU to their lowest point total of the season, on the road, and after turning the ball over 5 times. If Ohio State thinks they're going to roll into the bank and put up 50, they're in for a rude awakening. Ohio State won't score more than 30 this weekend, and that in itself will keep the Gophers in the game until the end.
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They had 4 drives start inside our own 40 resulting in 24 points. We could have very well held the #2 FBS offense to 20, maybe even less without those TOs.
 

Haha, no even in normal conditions I think MN has a shot. Not a good shot, but a shot. In bad conditions and Ohio State being on the road I give MN a 50/50 chance to pull the upset. That is what I'm saying.

I have to be objective. There is a talent differential between the two teams. Ohio State has stockpiled four and five star recruits. MN has some NFL quality players too but there is still an undeniable disparity in talent. Which is why MN needs extra help from as many factors in play as possible. Ohio State would be in same boat if they played Miss State on saturday. They would have to find a way to out scheme Miss State and cover up for gaps in talent. Ohio State would have a chance to do this, but common sense suggests that Miss State's superior talent would ultimately prevail. That is all I'm saying. All other factors aside, Ohio State has more talented players on both sides of ball which is a huge thing to overcome. MN can do this with a great game plan and preparation, but the odds are not realistically in their favor.
 

Frankly I hope OSU tests us deep, if Murray and BBC can't handle the OSU receivers it's not going to matter much at all whatever else can possibly happen.
That said, I like Murray's chances regardless of what they did to MSU's secondary, ours might be better.

Keys:
Hold serve early, a fast start would be better, but just stay in it for the first half.

Punish ballcarriers when on D, punish defenders when on O.
I like our chances of putting a few stinging hits on guys in the cold, Streveler/Williams/Kirkwood might be a nice changeup at some point.
Let Barrett run the ball 20 times and see how that plays out when he gets stung in 15 degree weather. Don't let them get easy plays or a lead to sit on.

Win the kicking game, make them earn a 80-90 yard TD drive, make their punt returner catch a frozen ball in the wind, and hammer him when he gets it.

Assuming the game is clean without critical turnovers and within a score or 2 late, then someone needs to make a play to actually win it.
I can see us slogging through a 27-17 type game and losing pretty easily, but who steps up and blocks a punt for a TD, makes a critical hit on the Qb, or jukes a guy in the open field for a big clutch score

I bet it's low scoring and close regardless, no way OSU fans get their 40 pt blowout to compare to TCU like they want. It WILL be 15 degrees at kickoff with blowing snow.
 

die hard gopher said:
They had 4 drives start inside our own 40 resulting in 24 points. We could have very well held the #2 FBS offense to 20, maybe even less without those TOs.
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Ummmm. TCU called off the dogs in the 2H. Folks are forgetting how badly we were manhandled. Further, they had a little to do with those TOs. They could have scored 60 if they had tried.
 

Spoofin said:
Ummmm. TCU called off the dogs in the 2H. Folks are forgetting how badly we were manhandled. Further, they had a little to do with those TOs. They could have scored 60 if they had tried.
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Boykin threw the ball 46 times against the Gophers, his second most attempts in a game this season. You think all of that came in the first half? They threw plenty in the second half and the Gophers shut them down.
 

Ole said:
Frankly I hope OSU tests us deep, if Murray and BBC can't handle the OSU receivers it's not going to matter much at all whatever else can possibly happen.
That said, I like Murray's chances regardless of what they did to MSU's secondary, ours might be better.

Keys:
Hold serve early, a fast start would be better, but just stay in it for the first half.

Punish ballcarriers when on D, punish defenders when on O.
I like our chances of putting a few stinging hits on guys in the cold, Streveler/Williams/Kirkwood might be a nice changeup at some point.
Let Barrett run the ball 20 times and see how that plays out when he gets stung in 15 degree weather. Don't let them get easy plays or a lead to sit on.

Win the kicking game, make them earn a 80-90 yard TD drive, make their punt returner catch a frozen ball in the wind, and hammer him when he gets it.

Assuming the game is clean without critical turnovers and within a score or 2 late, then someone needs to make a play to actually win it.
I can see us slogging through a 27-17 type game and losing pretty easily, but who steps up and blocks a punt for a TD, makes a critical hit on the Qb, or jukes a guy in the open field for a big clutch score

I bet it's low scoring and close regardless, no way OSU fans get their 40 pt blowout to compare to TCU like they want. It WILL be 15 degrees at kickoff with blowing snow.
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This right here is what Ohio State fans are afraid of. Barrett and co are getting used to the cold weather, but haven't seen anything like Sat could be. I have been talking with other Ohio State fans and they all agree that the weather and being on the road is the equalizer MN needs. Ohio State has been VERY fumble prone and freezing wet weather only increases the odds of turnovers. That is why I think weather is more of a factor than many think. If Ohio State had adequate ball security the weather would not be the same issue. Unfortunately, our running backs have put the ball on the ground and our return units have not held on to the ball at all. I think Barrett will also have trouble throwing if conditions are windy/wet. He has proven to be an accurate passer but REALLY struggled throwing a wet ball earlier in the year. He has small hands and struggles getting a grip in wet weather.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Boykin threw the ball 46 times against the Gophers, his second most attempts in a game this season. You think all of that came in the first half? They threw plenty in the second half and the Gophers shut them down.
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The fact that TCU's head coach (Peterson?) was one of the best men at Kill's wedding back in the day, should make it easy enough for you to realize that yes, TCU stopped bringing the wood in the second half. Watch the game over if that doesn't click with you still, and 46 attempts may mean nothing, its like in a scrimmage and you want to work on a weak part of your offense. Maybe they felt real behind in their passing game and wanted to work on some things. Most of those attempts were in the 1st half anyways.
 

I think our D has been solid, but lets not act like we dont have blemishes in our past games, or in our current unit to some degree.
 


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Spoofin said:
Ummmm. TCU called off the dogs in the 2H. Folks are forgetting how badly we were manhandled. Further, they had a little to do with those TOs. They could have scored 60 if they had tried.
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4th quarter maybe. They were still going hurry-up and passing the ball plenty in the 3rd quarter. Our defense played a heck of a game considering what TCU has done to some other teams.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
If I read the OP correctly the only way the Gophers win is: A) A snowstorm because snow is kryptonite to the Buckeyes supermen B) A slew of injuries to the BUckeyes forces them to venture into the 3-deeps Got it. I think I'll show up Saturday anyway.
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Considering that I'm in my early 30's and Ohio State hasn't lost in Minnesota since I've been alive, the OP's assessment is pretty fair.
 

Wilson needs to have the game of his life. I want to see him laying the lumber on their running backs all game long.
 



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