Top-ranked Ohio State returns to Ohio Stadium for Big Ten clash with Minnesota

COLUMBUS, Ohio(AP) — After a week off and a weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest, No. 1 Ohio State is set to return to Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will host Minnesota (3-1, 1-0) in their second home night game of the season and the first against a Big Ten opponent since Ohio State beat Michigan State 38-3 in November 2023.

That’s been a sore subject for some fans over the past year as Fox Sports snaps up most of the marquee matchups in the Big Ten and puts them in its Big Noon Kickoff time slot, but Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck did not seem thrilled to be an exception.

“I mean, that place is 107,000 fans and it’s deafening, and that’s for a noon kickoff or an 11 a.m. (Central) kickoff, let alone all of them doing what they do, tailgating all day and being ready for the night game that the fans have asked for,” Fleck said at his weekly news conference in the Twin Cities. “We know we’re walking into a really hostile environment. We’re going to do everything we can to recreate it and prepare in it.”

Ohio State passed its first road test last week with a 24-6 win at Washington.

Coach Ryan Day was happy with how his team handled the hostile Huskies crowd, especially redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin, who looked shaky at times early but seemed to settle in as the game went on in Seattle.

Saylin completed 15 of 18 passes in the second half after hitting 7 of 10 in the first and finished with 208 yards and two touchdown passes.

“I think that’s somebody who is building confidence every time he’s out there, building confidence of the guys that are around him, his teammates,” Day said.

Like Sayin, Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey is a first-year starter in his second year on campus who has shown promise so far this season.

The Arkansas native is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week after completing 31 of 41 passes for 324 yards in a comeback win at home against Rutgers last Saturday.

“We haven’t really played a pocket passer,” Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain said. “He’s a really good quarterback. He’s in the pocket. He’s able to get the ball at different spots. So we’ve just got to work every day and just get prepared for that.”

Ohio State is 50th in the nation at 181.3 yards per game on the ground while Minnesota is 87th (144.0), but the Golden Gophers are No. 5 against the run (65.5).

“I respect P.J. Fleck as much as anybody in the country and their coaching staff and how hard they play,” Day said. “And so it’ll be a challenge. You don’t play Minnesota and think you’re just going to run the ball without a lot of hard work.”

While Ohio State is working with three new running backs (CJ Donaldson, James Peoples and Bo Jackson) in a rotation trying to replace NFL draftees TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, Minnesota has missed standout Darius Taylor.

The junior missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, and Fleck gave no indication of his status for this week.

Minnesota is No. 9 nationally in total defense (230 yards per game), one spot behind Ohio State (229.3), so yards could be at a premium Saturday.

The Buckeyes have been better at preventing points, though, ranking No. 1 in scoring defense (5.5 points per game) while Minnesota is just 25th (16.3).

Ohio State’s starting right tackle, Phillip Daniels, is an Ohio native, but he spent the last two seasons at Minnesota.

“He’s got to come in here and have a great week of practice,” Day said of the Princeton High School graduate. “And this will be a big week for him, playing against his old team for sure, but I think the guys appreciate what he brings every day. He brings a work ethic and a toughness to work every day. And we can build off of that.”

Minnesota won three of the first five against Ohio State, but the Buckeyes have won 46 of the 50 meetings since 1944. That includes 13 in a row since Minnesota won 29-17 against No. 5 OSU at Ohio Stadium in 2000.

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