The Ohio State Effect: Minnesota

Another week and another team gets its stats stuffed.

MINNESOTA'S OFFENSIVE NUMBERS

Minnesota entered the game with an offense that found its passing stride against That Team last week. Before playing Ohio State the Gophers averaged 21.1 points (107th) 155.1 yards rushing and 209.6 yards passing per game. The Buckeyes held Minnesota's offense in check holding them to 14 points and 33 yards rushing. THat is 122.1 yards below their season average of rushing yards.

MINNESOTA'S DEFENSIVE NUMBERS

Minnesota came into the game ranked 25th in total defense. How did Ohio State's offense do against a top 25 defense with Cardale Jones at the helm? The Buckeyes rushed for 189 yards, passed for 187 and gained 376 total yards. Ohio State gained more yards than Minnesota's defense normally allowed in each category, but it was not done in spectacular fashion. Ohio State's offensive leaders were Ezekiel Elliott with 114 yards rushing (4.4 ypc) Jalin Marshall with 56 yards receiving. Cardale Jones finished the game 12/22 (.545) for 187 yards and a touchdown. He also added 65 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.

MINNESOTA'S SPECIAL TEAMS

The Gophers came into the game with a pedestrian kickoff return game. Minnesota had one decent return, but Ohio State clamped down and held the Gophers to 16.0 yards per return.

Peter Mortell, Minnesota's punter, averaged 36.0 yards of net punting. That is 2.2 yards shorter than his average, but isn't bad considering he punted eight times. Their field goal kicker, Ryan Santosa missed his only FG attempt but was 2/2 on XPs.

THE MOST IMPORTANT STAT

Ohio State 28, Minnesota 14

Ohio State is now 10-8-1 on November 7th.

MINNESOTA STATS COMPARISON

2015 STATS	CATEGORY	Against Ohio State	Stat Difference
21.1	Points For	14	- 7.1
23.9	Points Against	28	- 4.1
	OFFENSE
155.1	Rushing Offense	33	- 122.1
209.6	Passing Offense	281	+ 71.4
364.8	Total Offense	314	- 50.8
	DEFENSE
148.4	Rushing Defense	189	- 40.6
176.3	Pass Defense	187	- 10.7
324.6	Total Defense	376	- 51.4
	OFF. MISC.
.366	3rd Down Conv.	.368	+ .002
.792	Red Zone	1.00	+ .208
2.2	Punt Return	11.0	+ 8.8
18.6	Kickoff Return	16.0	- 2.6
	DEF. MISC.
.362	3rd Down Conv.	.438	- .076
.885	Red Zone	.500	+ .385
110.2	Pass Eff. Def.	222.3	- 112.1
38.2	Net Punting	36.0	- 2.2
	MISC.
- 0.3	Turnover Margin	0	+ 0.3
6.0	Penalties Per Game	3.0	+ 3.0
Total: 11	THE EDGE	Total: 7

Zeeeeke goes over 100 yards for the 14th straight game. Ohio State leads the series 45-7 and has outscored Minnesota 1,596-675.

MINNESOTA'S STATS BEFORE AND AFTER OHIO STATE

2015 STATS BEFORE OHIO STATE	NATIONAL RANKING	CATEGORY	2015 STATS AFTER OHIO STATE	NATIONAL RANKING	DIFFERENCE
21.1	107th	Points For	20.3	112th	- 0.8
23.9	49th	Points Against	24.3	50th	- 0.4
		OFFENSE
155.1	87th	Rushing Offense	141.6	102nd	- 13.5
209.6	82nd	Passing Offense	217.6	74th	+ 8.0
364.8	93rd	Total Offense	359.1	102nd	- 5.7
		DEFENSE
148.4	49th	Rushing Defense	152.9	51st	- 4.5
176.3	16th	Pass Defense	177.4	15th	- 1.1
324.6	25th	Total Defense	330.3	24th	- 5.7
		OFF. MISC.
.366	91st	3rd Down Conv.	.366	95th	No Change
.792	95th	Red Zone	.808	90th	+ .016
2.2	122nd	Punt Return	2.7	122nd	+ 0.5
18.6	102nd	Kickoff Return	18.3	110th	- 0.3
		DEF. MISC.
.362	48th	3rd Down Conv.	.370	57th	- .008
.885	100th	Red Zone	.833	61st	+ .052
110.2	24th	Pass Eff. Def.	112.7	23rd	- 2.5
38.2	51st	Net Punting	37.9	55th	- 0.3
		MISC.
-0.3	84th	Turnover Margin	- 0.2	84th	+ 0.1
6.0	54th	Penalties Per Game	5.7	46th	+ 0.3
	Total: 12	THE EDGE	Total: 7