Ohio State's tilt this week against the Minnesota Golden Gophers isn't exactly the most prolific college football matchup of the Week 12 slate, but it could be a fun one for Buckeyes fans, so let's make some bold Ohio State predictions.
There are four matchups this weekend between teams ranked inside the College Football Playoff Committee's latest top 25 rankings, and this one isn't one of them. But this matchup is still very important. There wasn't a ton of movement at the top of these latest rankings, but there was at No. 1. Georgia bounced Ohio State from their perch atop the rankings after the Bulldogs' emphatic 52-17 win over the Ole Miss Rebels.
As a result, Ohio State is now second in the College Football Playoff rankings and will look to make a statement to show the committee it was a mistake to remove them from the top spot. Vegas certainly thinks they will. Ohio State is favored by four touchdowns in this game. They should handle the Gophers with ease before their big showdown with Michigan next week. But that's not a very fun or bold prediction. Maybe it's time to make a couple of them then.
*Watch NCAA Football games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Marvin Harrison Jr. will have at least 150 receiving yards
Marvin Harrison Jr. began the season a little slow for his standards. In his first two games against Power Five teams this season, Harrison Jr. only racked up 50 yards on five receptions. He did have a 160-yard and 126-yard performance sandwiched in between those games, but those were against Youngstown State and Western Kentucky.
Since Ohio State's last-second win over Notre Dame, however, Harrison Jr. has been on an absolute rampage. Ohio State has played six games since that win. Harrison Jr. has at least 105 yards in five of those six games. He's caught a touchdown in all of of them and has nine total TDs in that span. He also has 727 receiving yards on 42 receptions, meaning he's averaging over 17 yards per catch in his last six games.
Those numbers are flat-out astonishing and unreal. He should be able to keep the good times going against Minnesota, too.
The Golden Gophers are allowing 364 passing yards per game, which ranks eighth among the 12 teams in the Big Ten. Considering that includes a game against Iowa where the Hawkeyes were able to muster only 116 passing yards, that's a pretty high number. The Gophers haven't even played a ton of super prolific passing attacks this season either, but they've gotten lit up when they have. North Carolina's star quarterback Drake Maye threw for 414 yards against Minnesota. Michigan's JJ McCarthy only threw for 219 yards, but he did it only 20 attempts, meaning he averaged 10.95 yards per attempt, which is a lot.
Kyle McCord should have a solid day against this defense. If he does, odds are the majority of his yards are going to 18. Look for Marvin Harrison Jr. to keep the good times rolling against the Gophers.
Ohio State holds Minnesota to below 200 yards of offense
Iowa gets the headlines for inept pass offenses in the Big Ten, but Minnesota' isn't a ton better. They average only 36.2 more passing yards per game than Iowa's which not only ranks dead last in the Big Ten, but last in the entire country save for the service academy schools.
Minnesota can at least run the ball. They're sandwiched in between Alabama and Missouri with their 160.4 rushing yards per game average thanks to breakout running back Darius Taylor.
But the Ohio State football team has a stingy run defense. They rank 22nd in the country in fewest rushing yards per game allowed at 112.4 and second in passing yards allowed per game at 149.8. Minnesota was held below 200 yards in their matchup against Michigan earlier this season. Ohio State should be able to do the same.
Follow Us
Subscribe