It was the famed Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis who once said, "Just win, baby."
That seems to be exactly the mantra Ohio State is going with this season.
The Buckeyes statistically dominated their game Saturday against Minnesota although the final score of 31-24 doesn't exactly reflect that. But most importantly — for an Ohio State team trying desperately to qualify for the first-ever College Football Playoff — it got a win.
"Great team win. Not great execution, but great team win," head coach Urban Meyer said. "Tough environment, 11 a.m. game against a very good team that we have a lot of respect for. There wasn't a whole lot of motivation this week to get them ready to go, you just show the film."
It certainly wasn't the "statement win" the Buckeyes may have been looking for — or needed for that matter — but it was a win nonetheless.
It also brings up an interesting debate about where Ohio State will be come Tuesday night in the College Football Playoff rankings. The No. 1 team, Mississippi State, lost 25-20 on the road at Alabama, while the committee's No. 4 team, TCU, came from behind to win on the road at Kansas, 34-30.
Outside of the Crimson Tide, Ohio State had by far the most impressive win over the weekend of any team ranked in the Top 8, so it'll certainly be interesting Tuesday night to see where the Buckeyes are in the rankings.
Will they jump idle Baylor? How far will Mississippi State fall?
Marshall's Struggles
Jalin Marshall didn't have his best game as a Buckeye. That's pretty certain.
The redshirt freshman from Middletown fumbled at the goal line when Ohio State had a shot to go up 21-7 and he also muffed a punt in the second half which also led to a Golden Gophers touchdown leading people to feel the need to attack him on Twitter.
But while Marshall has had his struggles in the return game, he still remains a key part of Ohio State's offense. He had five catches for 95 yards, including 57-yard touchdown catch as he filled in full-time at H-back for the injured Dontre Wilson.
That shouldn't be discounted, but it's becoming clear Meyer should rethink his strategy to send Marshall back to return punts, even without Wilson.
"He’s just gotta keep his head up, he’s been making a lot of good plays this season," running back Ezekiel Elliott said of Marshall. "He’s really gotten a lot better through the season. Just gotta keep the ball tighter. That’s just a mental thing, just gotta work on it in practice."
Michael Bennett Sounds Off
Ohio State's defense was pretty solid against the Gophers, limiting them to just 303 total yards, but the Buckeyes had their issues stopping the run.
Minnesota running back David Cobb, who is one of the top running backs in the Big Ten, tallied 147 of those yards on the ground on 27 carries and had hall three Golden Gophers touchdowns.
Apparently, Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Bennett wasn't pleased with the way the Buckeyes defended Cobb and the running game in the first half, where he totaled 95 of his yards.
"I let them know that I wasn’t happy about it and I felt like there was a lot of apathy like, ‘Oh, we only let them get 14 points and I felt like we shouldn’t have let them get any,'" Bennett said. "So, it was mostly just a call to action. We can’t be OK with that, you can’t let them run up the ball, we’re better than that. We need to form a wall and not let their running back get through. And I don’t know many times in the second half that he did."
It certainly resonated with his teammates to play better in the second half. Ohio State was also able to force two turnovers.
"Yeah, he was getting after it but we felt the same way. We just didn't say anything," defensive end Joey Bosa said. "We definitely came out with nice intensity in the second half."
