Game Observations: Ohio State Defense vs. Minnesota

Here is my immediate reaction to how the Ohio State offense fared against the Golden Gophers.

Here is my immediate reaction to how the Ohio State defense fared against the Golden Gophers.

Ohio State's defense had a tall order in the opener against a very good Minnesota rushing attack. They had a pretty difficult time bringing down Mohamed Ibrahim consistently. On top of that, seven Buckeyes made their first career start on defense.

Game notes: Ohio State had seven first-time starters on defense: true fresh. CB Denzel Burke, RS fresh. CB Ryan Watts, soph. SAF Lathan Ransom, soph. LB Tommy Eichenberg, soph. SAF Ronnie Hickman, Jr. DT Taron Vincent and Sr. LB Teradja Mitchell.

— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) September 3, 2021

But give credit where it's due, the Silver Bullets had a much better second half when it came to tackling.

The biggest issue on Thursday? Self-inflicted wounds. Josh Proctor had a huge interception that was wiped away on a roughing-the-passer penalty. Earlier in the game, with P.J. Fleck choosing to go for it on 4th and 1 from fairly deep on his side of the field, Minnesota broke contain and smoked the Buckeyes for a 56 yard run down the left sideline. That eventually led to a touchdown.

The defense also had a few untimely penalties, including a Denzel Burke holding call in the end zone on a pass that was broken up.

Game Observations: Ohio State Offense vs. Minnesota

But all in all, even with that big 56 yard run, Ohio State still held Minnesota to just 4.1 yards per rush on the game - a very respectable number.

In fairness, the secondary needs to be a bit better. College football is largely an offensive game and it's tough to be perfect as a defensive back. It's easy to pick on that unit. But I think in the grand scheme of things, the final stats would indicate the Buckeyes played well enough to win. Without a doubt, they have to work on not giving up the same kind of game-breaking plays they've delivered

Hopefully Josh Proctor's injury isn't a debilitating one. He's probably Ohio State's best veteran defensive back. The Buckeyes also got a bit lucky with a targeting call overturned on Teradja Mitchell early in the game, and a Lathan Ransom pass break up that could have potentially been ruled targeting but was not.

Without watching the film, I really like the way Cody Simon and Tommy Eichenberg both played. I thought both guys were aggressive and decisive. Not a perfect game from either one, but a solid start for both.

Plenty more to come on BuckeyesNow after tonight's tantalizing victory.

----

Be sure to check out our brand new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Ohio State’s Harry Miller, Cam Brown Among Those Unavailable For Season Opener Against Minnesota

Ohio State Defensive End Tyler Friday Out For Season With Torn ACL

Buckeyes, Palaie Gaoteote Still Waiting on NCAA Eligibility Ruling

Ohio State QB Quinn Ewers Reportedly Signs $1 Million-Plus Endorsement Deal

Ohio State's Thayer Munford Will Be Available For Season Opener At Minnesota

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Brendan on Twitter: @BrendanGulick22
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook