In a 37-3 blowout, Ohio State dominates the Gophers in the second half.
CLEVELAND, Ohio The Gophers football team, led by P.J. Fleck, has already lost twice this season despite having the unfortunate burden of playing both Michigan and Ohio State.
Following a 52-10 loss to the now-No. 3 Wolverines in October, Fleck was asked to compare the two Big Ten heavyweights following Saturday’s 37-3 loss to the No. 2 Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium.
In response to a reporter from Ohio, Fleck said, “I think you are splitting hairs.” Which Ferrari color do you prefer? Which one is white or red? Out of pure preference, which one would you choose from the group?
Continuing that analogy, what kind of vehicle would that make the under-.500 Gophers? A domestic sedan? A small pick-up truck?
On Saturday, Minnesota kept it close early, trailing only 13-0 after 30 minutes, but the Buckeyes zoomed past the Gophers with 14 points in the opening 67 seconds of the second half.
Minnesota doesn’t have the speed, power or handling of a sports car to keep up.
On the first play of the second half, running back TreVeyon Henderson got loose on a 75-yard touchdown run.
On the U’s first offensive play, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis was strip-sacked; Buckeyes standout end JT Tuimoloau recovered and returned it 15 yards. Three plays later, star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. caught a touchdown pass.
On the following series, Kaliakmanis threw an interception that resulted in a field goal for the Buckeyes.
Early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State scored 37 points on a 16-play touchdown drive, demonstrating its ability to score rapidly and methodically. As a result, a large portion of the 104,019 announced attendance began to leave the stadium.
In what could have been a trap game, No. 2 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0) may have begun more slowly. Next Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, The Game will take place against fellow undefeated Michigan. After the intermission, though, the Buckeyes went into overdrive.
The Buckeyes outgained Minnesota by 275 total yards (434-159) and scored 10 points off two Minnesota turnovers.
“We were outmatched and outcoached,” Fleck said. “… We got to be way better. We didn’t make enough plays, which has been the story of the year.”
The Gophers (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten) have now lost three straight games and still need one more win to reach bowl eligibility. They have one last chance to get to six wins in the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe against Wisconsin next Saturday.
Defensive end Danny Striggow tried to keep the perspective boiled down to one loss against the Buckeyes. “You can’t think like that,” he said of the skid. “Otherwise that’s how you get into a losing mentality.”
The Buckeyes offense averaged 10 yards per play on its opening eight-play touchdown drive, but didn’t have the same success on the next four drives.
Minnesota forced a three-and-out on the next drive. Ohio State was stopped inside Minnesota’s 30-yard line on the following two drives and kicked two field goals to extend a 13-0 lead.
They emerged and struck us in the mouth, according to Striggow. “We anticipated that a team like that would perform poorly. We were able to play really solid defense in the first half after we calmed down and, in a sense, got over our initial drive.
Despite having two offensive drives inside the Buckeyes’ 45-yard line in the first half, Fleck decided not to take a chance and punt on both of the Gophers’ two fourth-and-five opportunities.
Put another way, Fleck was unwilling to let go in a drag race against this red Ferrari.
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