Ohio State Football could struggle in first half vs. Minnesota

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Stano:

Just because the Ohio State football team is clearly the more talented group doesn’t give them immunity from struggling early on in the opener against Minnesota.

The Ohio State football team opens up their season just over a month from now in Minnesota on a Thursday night. It will be the first time since 2019 that they will play in front of Big Ten fans. It will surely be a rowdy environment that will take some getting used to.


Not only that, but the Buckeyes will be breaking in some new players at some key positions. The biggest new player will obviously be the new quarterback. As we’ve said before, it will likely be C.J. Stroud, but we don’t know that for sure. Whoever it is will have their work cut out for them.

Since they will have a new quarterback, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Buckeyes struggle in the first half against the Golden Gophers. It will take some time for the new guy to get used to live, Big Ten games. No one on the roster has thrown a pass in a collegiate game.

The defense could struggle a bit too. They don’t have much experience in the back seven. In fact, they don’t have a linebacker who has started a single game for the Buckeyes on this roster. It will be interesting to see how they react to an experienced quarterback like Tanner Morgan.

Do I think Ohio State is in danger of losing the game? Absolutely not. Whatever struggles they have in the first half should be easily fixed in the second half. As I said, they are still the superior talented team. It would be shocking to not see Ryan Day fix any issues that may arise.

scarletandgame.com

Ohio State Football could struggle in first half vs. Minnesota

The Ohio State football team could have some struggles in the first half against Minnesota. If they do, don't panic. Everything will be fine.
scarletandgame.com scarletandgame.com

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Stano:

Just because the Ohio State football team is clearly the more talented group doesn’t give them immunity from struggling early on in the opener against Minnesota.

The Ohio State football team opens up their season just over a month from now in Minnesota on a Thursday night. It will be the first time since 2019 that they will play in front of Big Ten fans. It will surely be a rowdy environment that will take some getting used to.


Not only that, but the Buckeyes will be breaking in some new players at some key positions. The biggest new player will obviously be the new quarterback. As we’ve said before, it will likely be C.J. Stroud, but we don’t know that for sure. Whoever it is will have their work cut out for them.

Since they will have a new quarterback, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Buckeyes struggle in the first half against the Golden Gophers. It will take some time for the new guy to get used to live, Big Ten games. No one on the roster has thrown a pass in a collegiate game.

The defense could struggle a bit too. They don’t have much experience in the back seven. In fact, they don’t have a linebacker who has started a single game for the Buckeyes on this roster. It will be interesting to see how they react to an experienced quarterback like Tanner Morgan.

Do I think Ohio State is in danger of losing the game? Absolutely not. Whatever struggles they have in the first half should be easily fixed in the second half. As I said, they are still the superior talented team. It would be shocking to not see Ryan Day fix any issues that may arise.

scarletandgame.com

Ohio State Football could struggle in first half vs. Minnesota

The Ohio State football team could have some struggles in the first half against Minnesota. If they do, don't panic. Everything will be fine.
scarletandgame.com scarletandgame.com

Go Gophers!!
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Um, OSU is clearly the more talented team 99% of the time they step on the field. Does that mean they never lose?
 



Their struggles won't end after the first half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stano seems a little dinkish.
 


The Gophers should trot out the right kind of team to beat Ohio State. The Gophers should be able to run the ball against them and control the clock a bit. The Gophs will have a size advantage up front on offense, and an experience advantage overall.

It's also a favorably timed matchup when the Buckeyes are breaking in more new players than the Gophers. The depth of Ohio State is more of an advantage late in the season than it is the first game.

The defense up the middle is going to need to be a lot better than last year to have a chance. The 2020 D-Line was historically bad both rushing the passer and stopping the run. The old guys need to get it locked down...if they somehow do, there's a real shot.
 

They had OSU on the ropes 2 out of the last 3 times they’ve played. And then their quarterbacks start running.
 

fmlizard said:
The Gophers should trot out the right kind of team to beat Ohio State. The Gophers should be able to run the ball against them and control the clock a bit. The Gophs will have a size advantage up front on offense, and an experience advantage overall.

It's also a favorably timed matchup when the Buckeyes are breaking in more new players than the Gophers. The depth of Ohio State is more of an advantage late in the season than it is the first game.

The defense up the middle is going to need to be a lot better than last year to have a chance. The 2020 D-Line was historically bad both rushing the passer and stopping the run. The old guys need to get it locked down...if they somehow do, there's a real shot.
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The question is: As we get closer to game day...will PJ just flat out guarantee victory?
If you listen to his comments he is very confident in his football team. Very excited about the season. How they look in practice leading up to the game may tell us how much more excited he feels watching them practice. Enough to do the unthinkable?
We are way more experienced and playing at home. We have some 7th year guys. They have a lot of guys in their two deeps who haven't ever played in front of college football fans and it's on the road.
While the writer has bully bravado, he also expresses some concern about his Buckeyes.
 
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Typical homer style writing. The outcome of every play simply hinges on OSU players, their experience, their abilities, and their coaching. The Gophers are merely tackling dummies with uniforms.
 

State of Football said:
They had OSU on the ropes 2 out of the last 3 times they’ve played. And then their quarterbacks start running.
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And that’s the one thing (QB as RB) that the Gophers don’t do … meaning that perhaps the Gophers defense has a hard time effectively preparing for that element. C J Stroud, if he starts, has a very strong arm but is also a real threat to run. Stop the QB from cracking off big gains on the ground (might need a shadow) and you remove an important cog of the OSU offensive strategy.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
And that’s the one thing that the Gophers don’t do … meaning that perhaps the Gophers defense has a hard time effectively preparing for that element. C J Stroud, if he starts, has a very strong arm but is also a real threat to run. Stop the QB from cracking off big gains on the ground (might need a shadow) and you remove an important cog of the OSU offensive strategy.
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Hoping Oliver being back... he can be that shadow, if need be. He seems to run sideline to sideline in a flash.
 



The writer forgets that sometimes when you start off wrong in a game you never get it together. Inexperienced teams are less likely to get it together at half time so if his projection holds true for the first half I like our chances.
 

nsmike said:
The writer forgets that sometimes when you start off wrong in a game you never get it together. Inexperienced teams are less likely to get it together at half time so if his projection holds true for the first half I like our chances.
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OSU has a lot of experience on the OL and RB, and had two of the best WRs in football. If they start slow on offense, it will be because we’ve gotten into the new QB’s head, and he might be doubting himself. That is hard to correct mid-game. In which case the OSU coaches might simplify and make the QB a second RB (like we did with Streveler against San Jose State). Inexperience on OSU’s defense is at LB. If our offense can exploit that by grinding out drives that end in TDs (big if), there is more pressure on OSU’s QB. But, superior talent almost always pulls it out in the end … 😕
 
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fmlizard said:
The Gophers should trot out the right kind of team to beat Ohio State. The Gophers should be able to run the ball against them and control the clock a bit. The Gophs will have a size advantage up front on offense, and an experience advantage overall.

It's also a favorably timed matchup when the Buckeyes are breaking in more new players than the Gophers. The depth of Ohio State is more of an advantage late in the season than it is the first game.

The defense up the middle is going to need to be a lot better than last year to have a chance. The 2020 D-Line was historically bad both rushing the passer and stopping the run. The old guys need to get it locked down...if they somehow do, there's a real shot.
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It’s our LBs that have me worried.
 



bonin21 said:
Gophers are going to get pounded
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OSU will come here with the intent to win and win huge. They have a lot to prove and want to get to the top of the rankings sooner than later. A relax loss would cause them to spend the first half of the season getting back to top 5.
 


In the 2014 game the Gophers got off to a slow start, but ended only 7 points down to the eventual national champion team. Of course that game was frigid, so better suited the Gopher's style of play.
 



Absolutely ridiculous article

Last Imsaw Ahia’ State also kept it close in the first half versus Alabama
 

allthgoodnamesrgone said:
In the 2014 game the Gophers got off to a slow start, but ended only 7 points down to the eventual national champion team. Of course that game was frigid, so better suited the Gopher's style of play.
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Gonna need some Elsa level magic for snow...
 

When you have a deadline to finish an article on a slow news day.

"OSU could struggle in the first half" ✌
 

If this game is close at half time I don’t see OSU blowing things open in the second half. That’s the beauty of “Tressell ball”.
 

btowngopher said:
If this game is close at half time I don’t see OSU blowing things open in the second half. That’s the beauty of “Tressell ball”.
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I could. These things have me concerned:
1. Fleck’s Gopher teams throughout the season start slow and finish strong(er). I’m worried a very unpolished/sloppy team shows up in Game 1.
2. I’m not convinced of Sanford as an OC. I could see the O get off to a strong start but OSU’s D figuring it out as the game goes.
3. Our D could resemble the early 2020 D.
So, I could see a 17-14 game at half turn into a 45-24 final. I sure hope a polished Gopher team shows up. If they play their A game for 4 quarters and play disciplined, I expect a one score game in either direction.
 

Marooned said:
I could. These things have me concerned:
1. Fleck’s Gopher teams throughout the season start slow and finish strong(er). I’m worried a very unpolished/sloppy team shows up in Game 1.
2. I’m not convinced of Sanford as an OC. I could see the O get off to a strong start but OSU’s D figuring it out as the game goes.
3. Our D could resemble the early 2020 D.
So, I could see a 17-14 game at half turn into a 45-24 final. I sure hope a polished Gopher team shows up. If they play their A game for 4 quarters and play disciplined, I expect a one score game in either direction.
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#1, yup that has been a problem. #2, if our offensive game plan is too simple and brittle, OSU will correct at half time and kill in the second half. We need to do unexpected things, and if the game remains close, reserve the majority of our unexpected stuff in the 2nd half, when there is no time for OSU to correct. #3, if our early season 2020 defense shows up, this will could be an ugly and dispiriting loss. Realistically, our offense must be a big part of our defense, keeping the OSU offense off the field and/or by scoring often.
 


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