Ohio State football: 3 things OSU must do against Minnesota

Way back when I played high school football, my coaches would say the same thing when preseason practice ended and it was time for that first game, “The hay is in the barn.” Well, Buckeye fans, the hay is in the barn and it is time for our favorite college football team to begin its 2021 season. Here are three things I think they need to do to get a win over Minnesota.

Control the line of scrimmage – I’m not giving you some deeply insightful football revelation here. Controlling the line of scrimmage is a key to winning any football game, but doubly so in this one. The Gophers are very good and deep along both their offensive and defensive lines. In their last two signature wins (Wisconsin and Auburn) Minnesota has possessed the ball for around 35 minutes in each.

Ohio State’s defensive line must not get shoved around and allow the Big Ten’s best running back, Mohamed Ibrahim, to chew up yardage and the clock. On offense, the OSU line must open holes for their backs and not put their young quarterback in constant long-yardage situations. They also need to protect C.J. Stroud and keep the Gophers from being in his face all night while trying to throw the ball.

The Ohio State football team can’t utilize that group of supremely talented receivers if there is someone chasing Stroud constantly. Winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball is going to go a long way in determining who will walk away with a win.

Play well in the secondary – We all know what happened last year and there isn’t much debate that the secondary is the biggest question mark coming into 2021. Minnesota is very thin at receiver. Their leading returning pass-catcher, Chris Autman-Bell, had just 22 receptions last year.

He was injured a few weeks ago and is said to be day-to-day. With or without Autman-Bell, if the Ohio State football team’s pass coverage struggles against a weak group like this, they’re going to struggle all season. The secondary must play well, and not let Minnesota throw it all over the place and turn the game into a shootout.

Take the crowd out of the game – Do not let Minnesota hang around and keep it close going into the fourth quarter. I fully expect a raucous crowd at Huntington Bank Stadium. If the game is close heading to that final period of play, they are going to be in a near frenzy and Minnesota players will feed off it. At that point, anything can happen. The Buckeyes will want to get up on the Gophers early and get that crowd thinking of how soon they can resume their tailgating. Don’t let them become a factor.

Three things I think the Buckeyes need to do to beat the Gophers. Time to sit down, strap in, and hang on Buckeye fans. The wild ride that is OSU’s 2021 season is about to commence.