Ohio State Football: Three keys to beating Minnesota

By Ryan Stano | Aug 29, 2021

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Tyler Friday (54) tries to break free of Cincinnati Bearcats offensive lineman Vincent McConnell in a 2019 game at Ohio Stadium. Friday will miss most of the upcoming season because of an injury, coach Ryan Day said Wednesday.Osu19cin Jb Xtra 13 /

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The Ohio State Football team needs the defense line to play well against Minnesota.Cfb Ohio State Buckeyes At Michigan State Spartans /

Defensive line has to wreak havoc.

Ohio State should have one of the most feared defensive lines in the country. They will have three former five-star recruits at the defensive end position in Zach Harrison, Jack Sawyer, and J.T. Tuimoloau. Those three alone are enough to make quarterbacks shudder.

The problem is that Harrison had issues getting the quarterback on the ground last season. He only recorded two sacks a year ago after he was expected to take a big leap as a player. The Buckeyes need him to do more this season.

As far as the Minnesota game is concerned, the Buckeyes need the defensive line to pressure Tanner Morgan and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. They may not need a ton of sacks in this game, but they need a lot of pressures. They have to help out the secondary as much as they can.

Expect a good game from Haskell Garrett in this one as well. The defensive tackle is looking to follow up a strong 2020 with an even better 2021 to help his draft stock. He can help stop the running game up the middle as well. That’s something Minnesota does the best.

The final key to victory for the Buckeyes has to deal with play in the secondary.

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