In what was the coldest game in the last 50 years of Ohio State football, the Buckeyes seemed like they may be bit by the frigid airs of Minnesota.
At least in the first half, anyway.
Only leading 17-14 at halftime, Ohio State rallied to beat both the weather and the Golden Gophers on Saturday afternoon, 31-24.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| MINNESOTA | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
Again, it was the J.T. Barrett show for the Buckeyes as the redshirt freshman quarterback racked up a career-high 189 rushing yards on 17 carries and had an 86-yard touchdown run. He also completed 15-of-25 passes for 200 yards and three scores. His 30-yard touchdown strike to Michael Thomas in the third quarter was his 37th total touchdown of the year, setting a new Ohio State single-season record.
The Buckeyes dominated the total yardage department, outgaining Minnesota, 489-303, in the game. But two first-half turnovers kept the Golden Gophers in the game as both led to touchdowns. Jalin Marshall muffed a punt in the fourth quarter, which also led to the third Minnesota score.
The Ohio State defense held Minnesota to just 85 yards through the air and picked off Gophers' quarterback Mitch Leidner twice in the second half.
With the win, Ohio State moves to 9-1 on the season and takes on Indiana next Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
GAME NOTES
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MINNESOTA |
|---|---|---|
| 489 | TOTAL YARDS | 303 |
| 289 | RUSHING YARDS | 218 |
| 38 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 44 |
| 7.6 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 5.0 |
| 1 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 3 |
| 200 | PASSING YARDS | 85 |
| 15—25 | COMPLETIONS—ATTEMPTS | 7—20 |
| 13.3 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 12.1 |
| 3 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 22 | 1st DOWNS | 17 |
| 12 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 9 |
| 8 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 5 |
| 2 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 63 | TOTAL PLAYS | 64 |
| 7.8 | YARDS PER PLAY | 4.7 |
| 2-3 | RED ZONE | 3-3 |
| 9-13 | 3rd DOWNS | 5-14 |
| 0-0 | 4th DOWNS | 1-1 |
| 4-49 | PENALTIES | 7-54 |
| 29:14 | POSSESSION | 30:46 |
- The win extends Ohio State’s regular season Big Ten-record win streak to 22 games.
- Ohio State has now won 13 consecutive games on the road, the longest active streak in the FBS.
- Ohio State has won 24 of the last 25 games with Minnesota. They lead the all-time series, 43-7.
- Ohio State’s offense racked up 489 total yards, 154 more than Minnesota had allowed per game coming into Saturday (335.3).
- Quarterback J.T. Barrett carried 17 times for 189 yards, a record for a Buckeyes quarterback, breaking Braxton Miller’s record of 186 in 2012 vs. Nebraska.
- Barrett’s 86-yard touchdown run in the first half was the longest by an Ohio State QB in program history. The previous long was 81 by Braxton Miller in 2011 vs. Indiana. Barrett’s run also was the third-longest overall in program history.
- Barrett’s 57-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Marshall in the first quarter was a career-long for Marshall and Barrett’s seventh completion of at least 50 yards this season.
- Barrett finished the game 15 of 25 for 200 yards passing and three touchdowns, his eighth game this season with multiple TD passes.
- Barrett’s 38 touchdowns responsible for this season are a school record, breaking Braxton Miller’s record of 36 set last season.
- Barrett’s 38 touchdowns responsible for in his first 10 games are the most by an FBS player – who debuted in the last 10 seasons – through their first 10 career games. Source: ESPN Stats & Info
- Barrett has been responsible for at least four touchdowns in six of 10 games this season.
- Barrett has now thrown 29 touchdowns on the season, one shy of Troy Smith’s record of 30 in 2006.
- Barrett has now thrown 26 touchdown passes with only four INTs in the last eight games.
- Urban Meyer is now 37-3 in the month of November since the start of the 2003 season.
- The Buckeyes improve to 33-3 (.916) under Meyer and have the second-highest winning percentage among FBS teams since the start of the 2012 season.
- Defensive end Joey Bosa finished with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL. He now has 11.5 sacks on the season, more than any Big Ten player had all of last season.
- Cornerback Doran Grant recorded his third interception of the season and the seventh of his career.
- Safety Vonn Bell also picked off a pass, his third of the season and the fourth of his career.
- Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 16 INTs on the season.
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Urban Meyer is now 28-12 in his career against Top 25 teams. He is 7-2 against Top 25 teams at Ohio State.
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The 15-degree temperature at kickoff marked the coldest kickoff on record for an Ohio State game since the 1964 Michigan game (20 degrees). It also was the coldest kickoff in the history of TCF Bank Stadium.
