GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Based on results this season, Minnesota’s defense will struggle to stop Ohio State’s passing attack on Saturday. The Gophers are giving up 196.8 yards per game through the air and 324.2 yards overall. In the last two games, Minnesota has given up a combined 90 points in losses to Maryland and Iowa. Last week, Iowa QB Nate Stanley threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns while completing 23-of-39 throws in the Hawkeyes’ 48-31 win over the Gophers. Ohio State is averaging 364.7 passing yards per game and QB Dwayne Haskins has 25 touchdown passes in six games this season. Haskins most likely will add to those totals playing against Minnesota’s secondary, which has been the most vulnerable part of the defense. Ohio State simply has too many wideouts to defend. Five Buckeyes receivers have 13 or more catches.
DRAFT SLANT
–DT Dre’Mont Jones recovered a fumble and had one sack in Ohio State’s 49-26 victory over Indiana last week. The redshirt junior is listed by NFLDraftScout.com as the No. 4 defensive tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft, but Jones is eligible to enter the 2019 draft. Jones leads Ohio State defensive linemen with 20 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in six games.
ROSTER REPORT:
–LB Malik Harrison left Saturday’s game against Indiana with an injury. Coach Urban Meyer said Monday that Harrison had improved over the weekend and was hopeful that he could play Saturday against Minnesota. He’s the Buckeyes’ second leading tackler with 25 this season.
–DE Jonathan Cooper went to the locker room with an injury last week during Ohio State’s 49-26 victory over Indiana. Coach Urban Meyer said Monday night that updates will be available on Cooper’s condition later in the week, but he indicated that the junior was feeling better and could play on Saturday at home against Minnesota.
–Coach Urban Meyer dropped to a knee on the sideline holding the side of his head in the second half of last week’s game against Indiana, but he reiterated Monday that there was no cause for alarm. He said he has headaches related to an ongoing issue with having a cyst removed from his brain. “I’ve been dealing with that cyst for many years, and we had that surgery several years ago,” Meyer said. “When it does take place, it’s just they give me some medicine and I feel fine now. It’s just something I’ve got to monitor.”
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