Nearly eight months removed from the end of the 2020 season, the wait for Ohio State football is just about over.
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes head to Minneapolis to take on P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers in their own backyard to kick off the 2021 schedule on Thursday. With just a few hours to go until the 8 p.m. kickoff, Eleven Warriors staff writers share their final thoughts, questions and predictions going into the first game.
Final Thoughts
This is Ohio State’s most intriguing season-opening matchup in quite some time
It’s not that Ohio State’s season openers have been devoid of interest in recent years.
In 2018, the Urban Meyer scandal cast a shadow over the Buckeyes’ matchup with Oregon State during Ryan Day’s head coaching debut, and last year’s near-empty Horseshoe held plenty of intrigue with Ohio State opening the COVID-19 season against a decent Big Ten opponent in Nebraska.
However, those storylines had more to do with off-field circumstances.
If this Minnesota team even comes close to resembling its 2019 self this season, Thursday could see Ohio State’s toughest season-opening test in recent memory, and the Gophers will have the added bonus of hosting the Buckeyes in what should be an electric atmosphere following the (mostly) uninhabited stands of 2020.
Throw in the new quarterback angle with C.J. Stroud, and Ohio State has a game on its hands – one that is well-worthy of a primetime night slot – even if it ends up pulling away by multiple touchdowns in the end.
– Griffin Strom
Don't panic if the defense isn’t perfect
It's inevitable that any big play allowed by Ohio State's defense on Thursday night will lead to swift reactions from Buckeye fans after what happened in last year's national championship game, but I'm gonna make this plea anyway: Don't overreact as soon as anything goes wrong for Kerry Coombs' unit in the season opener.
Minnesota should have one of the Big Ten's best offenses this year, so it will be capable of making plays against even the nation's best defenses. Certainly, Ohio State's defense needs to look better in this game than it did against Alabama in January. But even if the Gophers score a few touchdowns tonight, it shouldn't be immediately assumed that the defense won't be any better, as the Buckeyes will actually have a full regular season to work through issues and improve this year.
Some growing pains are to be expected in the first game, and the Buckeyes will be breaking in a bunch of inexperienced defenders against Minnesota, especially in the back seven. What is important, though, is for the defense to bounce back if it does give up some big plays and make the plays it ultimately needs to make for Ohio State to win the game. If that doesn't happen, you'll have my blessing to freak out; just don't expect perfection right away.
– Dan Hope
This feels like Ryan Day's team now
The past two years, Ryan Day still felt like the new coach inheriting a team in my mind. The players still knew Urban Meyer, he was still visible in the athletic program and present around the program. But now, Urban is coaching down in Jacksonville and the majority of the roster is composed of players who were signed after Day became the head coach. For the first time in my eyes, this feels like a team that was recruited and/or developed mostly or primarily by Day. The torch has officially been passed.
– Kevin Harrish
Ohio State has too much talent to lose this game
Minnesota is about as close to a veteran team as you’re going to find in college football. With 10 returning starters on offense and 10 on defense, that’s going to give some Big Ten teams problems down the road. But not Ohio State.
I think Minnesota is going to be a good team in 2021, but the Buckeyes should be a great one. Despite playing in what’s expected to be a hostile environment, Ohio State is loaded enough at wide receiver and on the offensive and defensive lines to make up for the inexperience at quarterback, linebacker and in the secondary, and should be more than enough for OSU to walk away 1-0 heading into Week 2.
– Garrick Hodge
Questions
How will the carries be split up at running back?
Master Teague has the experience. Miyan Williams has been the recipient of constant praise from Ohio State coaches and players in fall camp. Will either one emerge as the clear starter? Or will it be a running back by committee for the entire season? Those two running backs should receive the lion’s share of the carries Thursday night, but don’t be surprised if freshman TreVeyon Henderson is sprinkled in the rotation as a third-down back or as a change-of-pace back because of his game-changing speed.
– Garrick Hodge
What will the pass rush look like?
I'm very confident that the Ohio State pass rush will be improved this season, particularly on the edge, but I'm fascinated to see what it actually looks like. With so many equally players each with so much potential – including two true freshman five-stars – I'm curious to see who actually emerges, what the rotation looks like, and who will line up in a Rushman package.
– Kevin Harrish
How much will Ohio State rotate in the defensive back seven?
There's been a lot of talk this preseason about how the Buckeyes have built more depth on the back end of their defense and that they expect to play a lot of players in the secondary and at linebacker. We've heard those same claims before, though, only for Ohio State to largely rely on a smaller group of players once the actual games begin.
Will Ohio State actually play six linebackers on Thursday? Could Craig Young, Ronnie Hickman and Kourt Williams all see snaps at bullet, and could Marcus Williamson, Lathan Ransom and Cameron Martinez all see snaps at cover safety? Will Ohio State rotate cornerbacks like Ryan Watts, Denzel Burke or Demario McCall into the lineup regularly, or will Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown play the vast majority of the meaningful snaps?
Those questions are especially intriguing because of the fact that there's almost no proven commodities in the back seven, which remains Ohio State's biggest question mark entering the 2021. Teradja Mitchell, Banks and Josh Proctor will each almost certainly be in the starting lineup on Thursday, but there's multiple potential starters at every other spot, and whether Ohio State largely relies on one player or rotates multiple players at each of those spots against Minnesota will be telling of A) Whether there are players who have separated themselves from their competition at those positions and B) How much Ohio State really trusts its backups to play meaningful snaps in competitive games.
– Dan Hope
Does the Minnesota defense stand a chance at limiting the Buckeyes?
The performance of Kerry Coombs’ Ohio State defense will garner no shortage of inquiries entering this matchup, and for good reason.
But let’s flip things on their head for a moment.
If Minnesota manages to keep this game close, it will almost certainly mean the Gophers have made major improvements to a group that ranked 102nd in the country against the run last season. Alternatively, it could also mean the Buckeye offense is dealing with some early season issues.
Does Minnesota stand a chance at limiting a perennially prolific Ohio State offense tasked with replacing a couple key positions this season? That is my question.
– Griffin Strom
Predictions
Despite all the bullet talk, the Buckeyes will play a lot of three-linebacker looks
Surely, after everything we’ve seen through spring and the preseason, the bullet position will finally arrive as a major component to the Ohio State defense in 2021.
If you’re expecting to see it throughout the entirety of the Buckeyes’ first game of the season though, you might want to think again.
The run game is undoubtedly the strength of the Gopher offense on paper, and with reigning Big Ten running back of the year Mohamed Ibrahim returning, Fleck and company will likely look to feed him early and often on Thursday. Not to mention every starter on the Gopher front line is a senior with considerable experience to lean on, and plenty of size to utilize as well.
Ohio State coaches may be expressing more confidence in Teradja Mitchell than any other member of the linebacker unit, but that doesn’t mean the group is without a long list of names to rotate. In fact, in order to shut down the Minnesota run threat, the Buckeyes might just play more traditional linebackers at once than expected, with some combination of Mitchell, Dallas Gant, Cody Simon, K'Vaughan Pope, Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers on the field.
– Griffin Strom
The over hits
At last check, the over/under for Thursday night's game was sitting at 62.5 points. That has me wishing I had waited before placing my bet on the game, as the over was once as high as 66.5 points, but I like the chances of the final score surpassing at least the lower total.
As Griffin mentioned earlier, Minnesota's defense could easily be overmatched by Ohio State's loaded offense, so I expect the Buckeyes to score at least six touchdowns. Because I expect Ohio State to have its ups and downs on defense against a Minnesota offense that's talented in its own right, I also expect the Gophers to score at least three touchdowns, bringing the total to a minimum of 63 points.
(Disclaimer: Eleven Warriors is not responsible for any damages you may incur as a result of taking my betting advice.)
– Dan Hope
Ohio State settles down after first half and wins by double digits
Williams and Teague should run through a Minnesota defense that had trouble stopping the run in 2020. Stroud has the weapons and the ability to perform more than serviceable in his first career start. The defense will inevitably have growing pains but has potential to make several big plays. Opening week momentum and experience will let the Gophers keep in close in the first half, but OSU will weather the storm and pull away in the second half.
– Garrick Hodge
Multiple true freshmen score a touchdown
I think we're going to see a lot more action from true freshmen in skill positions in this season opener than we have in the past with both Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. cracking the two-deep at receiver and TreVeyon Henderson likely getting early-season carries, even if he isn't yet the primary back. I predict we see multiple true freshmen find the end zone at some point today.
– Kevin Harrish
