No. 4 Ohio State Survives Minnesota's Upset Bid as C.J. Stroud Tosses 4 TDs

No. 4 Ohio State opened its regular season Thursday with a tough test at Minnesota and promptly rolled to a 45-31 victory at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Buckeyes have now won every season opener since 1999, when they fell to No. 12 Miami, a streak of 22 games. It's also the 12th consecutive victory for OSU over the Gophers. 

After falling to No. 1 Alabama 52-24 in last season's national championship game, Thursday's victory did well to wash away that loss and set Ohio State on a path back to the College Football Playoff. 

Redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud looked more than ready to lead that charge with four touchdowns in the victory.

 

Notable Performers

C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State: 13-of-22, 294 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State: 4 catches, 117 yards, 2 TD

Tanner Morgan, QB, Minnesota: 14-of-25, 205 yards, 1 TD

Mohamed Ibrahim, RB, Minnesota: 30 carries, 163 yards, 2 TD

 

Stroud Overcomes Early Struggles

It took Stroud just one half of Big Ten football to prove he belonged. It just happened to be the second half.

The first two quarters were a bit rockier. 

While Stroud wasn’t perfect in his first college start Thursday, he proved he’s more than capable of leading a Buckeyes offense featuring a number of big-play threats. Those players came to the quarterback’s aid in a big way to help stave off an upset after the Gophers took a 21-17 lead in the third quarter.

Ohio State rattled off touchdown plays of 71 yards (Miyan Williams), 38 yards (Chris Olave), 56 yards (Garrett Wilson), 70 yards (TreVeyon Henderson) and another 61-yard pass to Olave. That doesn’t include a touchdown return of 32 yards by defensive tackle Haskell Garrett following a Zach Harrison strip-sack.

All of it helped mask a number of mistakes and growing pains from Stroud. 

After completing eight of 14 passes with an interception in the first half, Stroud finished a respectable 13-of-22 with 294 yards and four touchdowns.

“I talked to him before we went into this game that we were going to keep pushing it and keep throwing it,” OSU head coach Ryan Day said on the Fox broadcast after the win. “He missed a couple early on, but we just kept working through that. When you’re a freshman quarterback and you’ve never thrown a college pass before, you have to get into a rhythm. He did and I thought the older guys really helped him out."

If this is his worst performance of the season, the Buckeyes are in for another campaign as title contenders.

 

Ibrahim Thrives, Leaves Injured

As long as Minnesota had senior tailback Mohamed Ibrahim on the field, its chances of an epic upset remained intact. 

The first three quarters Thursday proved that. 

As Ohio State struggled to get its offense rolling, Ibrahim was running wild as the Gophers attempted to use their ground game to wear down the Buckeyes defense. 

There’s also no question it worked. 

After OSU went up 10-0, two touchdowns from Ibrahim helped Minnesota take a 21-17 lead with 10 minutes left to play in the third quarter. He wouldn’t be around for the fourth. 

With 39 seconds remaining in the frame, the explosive tailback crumpled to the turf with obvious pain in his left leg. Replays showed his leg give out as he attempted to evade a tackle, and the next time the Fox broadcast caught a glimpse of him, Ibrahim was wearing a walking boot and heading into the tunnel. Moments later, it was announced Ibrahim was done for the night. 

Ohio State regained control in the fourth quarter as Minnesota’s offense struggled to maintain its rhythm.

Just how important Ibrahim is to Minnesota’s offense was obvious. Head coach P.J. Fleck dialed up 30 carries for the upperclassman by the time he exited with the leg injury. Had he been able to stay on the field, he likely would've continued to get handoff after handoff. 

In a matter of moments, Minnesota went from having a game-changing running back to an offense that required more of quarterback Tanner Morgan than was ideal. Ibrahim racked up 163 of the Gophers’ 203 rushing yards.

If he’s out long-term, Fleck and Minnesota will have to find another way to jump-start their offense. It won’t be easy.

 

What's Next

Ohio State has a monster game on tap with No. 11 Oregon set to visit Columbus on Sept. 11 at noon ET on Fox. Minnesota, meanwhile, remains home and hosts the University of Miami (OH) on Sept. 11. That game will also kick off at noon ET on ESPNU.