College Football
Preview
Minnesota at Ohio State
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 18, 2023
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State has one more obstacle before its showdown at Michigan -- the No. 2 Buckeyes will host banged up Minnesota on Saturday in Columbus.

The Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) fell one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday after holding the top spot the first two weeks. Georgia is ranked first, Michigan third.

Ohio State will play at Michigan on Nov. 25, with the winner advancing to the Big Ten championship game.

While the Buckeyes know wins in the next two games should secure one of the four playoff spots even if they were to lose in the conference title game, the Golden Gophers (5-5, 3-4) are vying to become bowl eligible by winning at least one of their final two games. Minnesota will finish the season at home against Wisconsin.

The Gophers are coming off a 49-30 loss to Purdue in which Minnesota starting linebacker Cody Lindenberg did not play because of an injury and backup Maverick Baranowski exited after the first series. Also, safety Aidan Gousby was out with an injury.

"Unfortunately, some of our best players are out, and it seems like every week it's just the inconsistency of who's actually out there," Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said Monday. "There's no excuses. I mean, 100 percent falls on the coaches and what we have to do to get better."

Ohio State played its most complete game of the season last Saturday, a 38-3 win against Michigan State in which the usually slow-starting Buckeyes scored on five of six drives in the first half.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday he has no concerns that the Buckeyes will look past the Gophers.

"Coming to work every day with these guys, this is a great team to be around," Day said. "We're going to do it again this week and keep swinging. ... The urgency has to be at an all-time high at this point of the season.

"P.J. does a great job. They're going to come in here and play hard. We're going to have to prepare for it like any other game."

The Buckeyes will look to receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to lead them again. Against Michigan State, he had a 19-yard run for his first career rushing touchdown and caught seven passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns despite being pulled along with several other starters after the first series of the third quarter.

"The Heisman Trophy goes to the most outstanding player in the country. ... I get to see him every day," Day said. "I think he is the most outstanding player in the country.

"He wants to be great. I know that. You can just tell that, and his actions back that up, and his production speaks for itself on the field."

Harrison is second nationally with 12 receiving TDs and seventh with 1,063 receiving yards.

Fleck knows the Gophers' defense will have a task trying to contain Harrison.

"I think he has a great knack and feel for how defenses are going to be played and how they are going to stop him and what the route concept is and what the route calls for," Fleck said.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf Conf
Minnesota 5-5 L2 22.5 25.8 4-2 1-3 0-3 0-0 3-4
Ohio State 10-0 W10 33.3 9.9 5-0 5-0 1-0 0-0 7-0
Last Meeting
Minnesota Ohio State
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
9/2/21 OSU 45 MINN 31 408 203 205 495 201 294
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Minnesota T. Morgan 56.0 205 1 0
Ohio State C. Stroud 59.1 294 4 1
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Minnesota M. Ibrahim 30 163 5.4 2
Ohio State M. Williams 9 125 13.9 1
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Minnesota D. Jackson 3 58 19.3 0
Ohio State C. Olave 4 117 29.2 2
Touchdowns Player TD
Minnesota M. Ibrahim 2
Ohio State C. Olave 2
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Minnesota A. Kaliakmanis 52.2 1582 13 7
Ohio State K. McCord 66.3 2687 20 4
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Minnesota D. Taylor 103 591 5.7 4
Ohio State T. Henderson 103 648 6.3 8
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Minnesota D. Jackson 45 681 15.1 7
Ohio State M. Harrison Jr. 59 1063 18.0 12
Touchdowns Player TD
Minnesota D. Jackson 7
Ohio State M. Harrison Jr. 13
Quickchart Matchup
Minnesota Minnesota Off vs  Ohio State Ohio State Def
Minnesota 318.6 yards
Ohio State 262.3 yards
Minnesota 4 yards/rush
Ohio State 3.4 yards/rush
Minnesota 6.4 yards/attempt
Ohio State 4.7 yards/attempt
Ohio State Ohio State Off vs  Minnesota Minnesota Def
Ohio State 428.8 yards
Minnesota 364 yards
Ohio State 4.1 yards/rush
Minnesota 4.4 yards/rush
Ohio State 9.2 yards/attempt
Minnesota 7.6 yards/attempt