Ryan Day met with the media yesterday to recap the key happenings from a big road win over Washington and preview Saturday's matchup with P.J. Fleck's Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Minnesota comes into the matchup with a 3-1 record but the schedule hasn't exactly been a murderer's row featuring Buffalo (SP+ rank 104), Northwestern State (330!), Cal (77) and Rutgers (48).
A clear bottom-half team in the Big Ten, Minnesota has enjoyed some exciting play from redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey. On the other side of the ball, its defense has been central to the 3-1 start. The Gophers rank No. 9 nationally in total defense giving up 230 yards game which is largely driven by what has been a statistically strong rush defense currently slotting No. 5 nationally, giving up just 65.5 yards per game on 2.34 yards per carry.
As such, Day respects Fleck and is focused on having his team ready to move the ball on the ground.
Well, they historically have played very, very physical against the run and continue to do that.. But they're well-coached and play really, really hard and have good players. I respect P.J. Fleck as much as anybody in the country and their coaching staff and how hard they play. And so it'll be a challenge. You don't play Minnesota and think you're just going to run the ball without a lot of hard work.– Ryan Day on Minnesota's rush defense
I can appreciate the coach speak and I'm sure Minnesota will be physical - it's a Big Ten team after all - but those lofty run defense metrics feel like they might be more impacted by the level of competition faced than by the Gophers' actual ability to stop a good offense from running the football.
| OPPONENT | RUSH YDS VS. MINN | YPC VS. MINN | OPP RUSH YDS/GAME NATL RANK | OPP RUSH YPC NATL RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUFFALO | 44 | 1.8 | 57 | 65 |
| NORTHWESTERN ST. | 19 | 0.9 | FCS | FCS |
| CAL | 61 | 2.5 | 118 | 119 |
| RUTGERS | 144 | 3.5 | 91 | 114 |
So, yeah, the best rush offense Minnesota has faced so far came out of the MAC and it's lone loss - at Cal - came against the nation's 118th ranked rush offense.
In last weekend's win over Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights ran for 144 yards, or four yards more than their season average which ranks 91st nationally.
Meanwhile, Ohio State's rush offense hasn't been amazing but it's been good enough to average 181.3 yards per game (No. 50 nationally) on 5.29 yards per carry (29th).
That said, now that Day and company have clearly identified the team's best ball carrier, Bo Jackson, and he led the team in carries (17) for the first time this season last weekend in Seattle, there's room for Ohio State's run game to kick it up a notch.
Jackson is averaging a ridiculous 8.5 yards per carry and despite his 11.7 attempts per game not ranking in the top-100 nationally, he ranks No. 12 averaging 99 rushing yards per contest.
Fellow tailbacks CJ Donaldson (4.5 ypc, 47.4 ypg) and James Peoples (4.9 ypc, 34.0 ypg) will also get their chances Saturday night as Day continues managing player development, skill-set deployment and wear and tear.
No disrespect to Minnesota but Saturday night should result in a reality check for its rush defense as the Gophers face a talent level far superior to what they've seen so far this season.
