Ohio State vs Minnesota Odds, Picks and Prediction

• No. 4 Ohio State (0-0) faces Minnesota (0-0) on the road at 8 pm ET Thursday on FOX
• The Buckeyes have won four straight Big Ten titles and have participated in the College Football Playoff the last two seasons; Minnesota finished last season with a 3-4 record
• See game odds, analysis and a prediction by scrolling below

Ryan Day is entering his third full season as the Ohio State head coach and has not lost a Big Ten conference game while roaming the sidelines in Columbus.

His Buckeyes face the Golden Gophers two-touchdown favorites for the first time in the Twin Cities since 2014 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The spread opened with Ohio State as 13.5-point favorites, but has slightly lengthened in their favor approaching kickoff.

Ohio State vs Minnesota Odds

Odds as of August 31st

CJ Stroud Has Help

With Justin Fields being the latest OSU quarterback off to the NFL, it’s CJ Stroud’s turn to lead the Buckeyes. The redshirt freshman played in three games as a true freshman last season (against Rutgers, Michigan State and Clemson) and had a 48-yard rushing touchdown against the Spartans.

Stroud has yet to throw a pass in an actual college game but has possibly the best receiving corps in the country with players like Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at his disposal. Master Teague, Miyan Williams and TreyVeon Henderson head up an Ohio State backfield that should help the young Buck possibly live up to some already-high expectations.

The Heisman race will be full of new faces🏆

📺: Heisman Trophy Preview Show, ESPN pic.twitter.com/iaHLKsdY9L

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 27, 2021

Expect Day to utilize his running backs early, especially since Minnesota’s rush defense had issues early on last season.  There were 127 FBS teams in 2020 and the Gopher rush defense finished 124th in yards per carry allowed and managed just 18 tackles-for-loss over their 7-game season.

PJ Fleck’s squad allowed 537 rushing yards (268.5 yards/game) and eight combined rushing touchdowns to Michigan and Maryland in the first two weeks of the season. Meantime, Iowa had 235 rushing yards and four trips to pay dirt on the ground.

Minnesota’s run defense vastly improved in the second half of the season, allowing just 165.7 yards per game and one rushing touchdown per game – but that was against Purdue, Nebraska and Wisconsin – teams that weren’t great at running the ball.

Look for Day to ease Stroud into action by sprinkling in some throws, but mostly handing it off.

A Steady Dose of Mighty Mo

With Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan being one of the few holdovers from the breakout 2019 squad that finished 11-2 – including a victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl – the Gophers possess veteran leadership under center – unlike Ohio State.

But it’s at running back where the Gophers have a truly good one. Only one running back in the country averaged more yards per game last season (Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson) than Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, who returns for a redshirt senior season after chewing up 153.7 yards per game on average last year.

In just seven games, Ibrahim totaled 1,076 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns to finish the season as a third-team AP All-American and one of the top backs in America.

#Gophers offensive coordinator Mike Sanford says Mohamed Ibrahim is the healthiest he has seen him. Sanford also very excited to see what massive offensive linemen Curtis Dunlap Jr. and Daniel Faalele can do being back in a game after not playing in 2020.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 30, 2021

Ibrahim has plenty of protection up front as well, with four of the five projected starters on the Gophers’ front line being either fifth- or sixth-year seniors. The other, 6-foot-9, 380-pound right tackle Daniel Faalele, is a fourth-year senior in his own right, and returns to the program after opting out of the 2020 season.

Golden Opportunity?

Minnesota is 96-35-6 all-time in season openers, while Fleck has gone 3-1 in lid-lifters at the helm. But those three wins came against Buffalo, New Mexico State and South Dakota State – with the lone defeat coming against the Wolverines last season. Certainly, the Buckeyes are more in the Maize and Blue vein of competition than their early-opponent predecessors. For what it’s worth, the program is 8-4 in home openers since Huntington Bank Stadium opened in 2009.  But how much of that matters with Stroud on the field?

#OhioState receiver @chrisolave_ believes the #Buckeyes are in good hands with @CJ7STROUD at quarterback. pic.twitter.com/fY30EmuS37

— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) August 30, 2021

But the reality is this is a clear mismatch. While Minnesota has a good chance to rebound from a down season with Ibrahim running behind an experienced O-line, Ohio State’s roster is talent-laden that should put the Buckeyes in a position to compete for a berth in the CFP once again.

The last time we saw the Buckeyes, they were getting smoked by the Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game. You can bet this group of Bucks want to put that ugly 52-24 loss behind them and start the 2021 season with a bang.

• The Pick: Ohio State -14 (-105)