Although one of the most highly anticipated matchups in the history of Ohio State’s rivalry with Michigan looms over Columbus in one week, the Buckeyes still need to take care of business in its final home game of the season against Minnesota on Saturday.
As the Buckeyes will trek to Ann Arbor next week, Ohio State seeks to send off its 21 seniors with a win over the Golden Gophers in their final game at the Shoe.
:beverage_box::beverage_box: pic.twitter.com/sQ3pBlxNJl
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 18, 2023
Minnesota enters Saturday’s contest on a downward trajectory, losing its last two games after a 5-3 start. The Golden Gophers have lost their last 11 games against Ohio State, and haven’t claimed a victory at Ohio Stadium since 2000.
Although the Golden Gophers look to snap that lengthy losing streak against the Buckeyes, the Eleven Warriors staff were unanimous in their predictions that Minnesota would leave Columbus on Saturday with 12 straight losses against Ohio State.
Andy Anders: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 6 - The Buckeyes take another step forward on offense and stay dominant on defense in preparation for their ultimate showdown with Michigan next week.
Chase Brown: Ohio State 41, Minnesota 10 - In its penultimate regular-season game, Ohio State fires on all cylinders offensively and defensively to secure a dominant win over the Golden Gophers before their top-three showdown with Michigan on Nov. 25.
George Eisner: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 10 - A single Silver Bullet is worth a whole colony of Golden Gophers. The Buckeyes keep it basic on the ground this week before letting the playbook rip in Ann Arbor.
Jack Emerson: Ohio State 35, Minnesota 13 - Ohio State will take care of business with little trouble in its final tune-up ahead of The Game. Bring on the Wolverines.
Johnny Ginter: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 14 - I would like to say that Ohio State is going to come out of the gates with their hair on fire and put away the Gophers before halftime. So I will: Marv gets a ton of yards and Kyle looks great for the second week in a row.
Matt Gutridge: Ohio State 45, Minnesota 10 - If Marvin Harrison Jr. catches two touchdown passes against the Gophers, he will become the first Buckeye to have two touchdown receptions in four straight games.
Garrick Hodge: Ohio State 38, Minnesota 6 - Ohio State will take its foot off the gas somewhat similar to last against Michigan State, but is still the far superior team.
Dan Hope: Ohio State 38, Minnesota 7 - Expecting a similar game as last week. Buckeyes dominate the first half before calling off the dogs in the second half as they look to enter The Game as fresh and healthy as possible.
Kyle Jones: Ohio State 38, Minnesota 10 - Ohio State barely covers, 38-10, with Harrison having another big game that bolsters his Heisman campaign. The Buckeyes could run up the score, but Day takes his foot off the gas to minimize the risk of injuries heading into the most important week of the season.
Chris Lauderback: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 10 - The Buckeyes dominate early and coast late as focus shifts to The Game before the fourth quarter begins.
Ramzy Nasrallah: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 7 - Buckeyes get the junior burger-version of Michigan the week before facing the real thing.
Josh Poloha: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 10 - One final tune-up before The Game. Ohio State will use this game to rest their starters for most of the second half, just like the Buckeyes did last weekend against Michigan State.
Jason Priestas: Ohio State 42, Minnesota 10 - In the team’s final tuneup before the massive tilt in Ann Arbor, Ohio State rolls over a Minnesota team looking to just get out of this season.
Check out this week’s Eleven Warriors Roundtable for more discussion regarding No. 2 Ohio State’s clash with Minnesota from Dan Hope, Kyle Jones and Josh Poloha.
WILL OHIO STATE COVER?
Ohio State is a 27.5-point favorite entering Saturday’s contest against Minnesota, and the Buckeyes have been on a roll against the spread lately — covering in five of their last six games. On the season, Ohio State has a 6-3-1 record against the spread.
Minnesota hasn’t quite had the same success against the spread this year, limping into Columbus with a 3-7 mark. Coinciding with their back-to-back losses to Illinois and Purdue, the Gophers have also failed to cover in each of their last two games.
Nearly all 13 members of the Eleven Warriors staff predicted a third-straight cover for the Buckeyes, with Jack Emerson being the lone holdout.
WHAT ABOUT THE OVER?
As of Saturday afternoon, the total for the Senior Day clash between the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers sits at 51 points.
The over has hit just twice in Ohio State games this season, and only once in the Buckeyes’ last seven games. The total has gone over in each of Minnesota’s last two games, but the over shares the same record as the Golden Gophers in their games, going 5-5.
Five members of the Eleven Warriors staff envision the over to hit on Saturday, with Jason Priestas, Chris Lauderback, Johnny Ginter, Matt Gutridge and George Eisner picking the over.
Looking for more betting analysis regarding Saturday’s contest? Check out Easy Bucks for more detailed breakdowns of this weekend’s lines and more.
ELEVEN WARRIORS PROP BETS
Looking for more lines to evaluate? Take a peek at our in-house prop betting lines for this matchup to get a greater sense of what oddsmakers are expecting from individual performances. Leave your predictions for us in the comments and compete for bragging rights!
- How many passing yards will Kyle McCord throw for?
- Over 275.5 (-110)
- Under 275.5 (+100)
- How many receiving yards will Marvin Harrison Jr. finish with?
- Over 110.5 (-110)
- Under 110.5 (-110)
- How many rushing yards will TreVeyon Henderson finish with?
- Over 95.5 (-110)
- Under 95.5 (-110)
- How many receptions will Cade Stover finish with?
- Over 4.5 (+100)
- Under 4.5 (-110)
