MINNEAPOLIS--After a rocky first half that saw Ohio State head into the locker room trailing 14-10, the Buckeyes kicked it into high gear with five second half touchdowns and secured a season-opening win in Minneapolis.
Head coach Ryan Day pointed to the Buckeyes’ resiliency as the key reason for the second-half surge.
“Really proud of the way our team played. The second half and especially in that fourth quarter, I thought we learned a lot from this experience,” Day said. “The way we rallied and played, especially in that second half, we got a lot to build on here. Very excited coming out of that locker room.”
In his first-career start, quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled out of the gates, going 8-14 for 58 yards in the opening half. Stroud also threw an interception in the first half, throwing behind Chris Olave and into the hands of Minnesota defensive back Terell Smith.
But Stroud ultimately found his groove in the second half where he connected on 5-of-8 passes, four of which found the end zone, for 236 yards.
The Empire, CA, native said his ability to preserve shined in the second half, leading to his stellar performance in the game’s final 30 minutes.
“I feel like my whole life has been perseverance. Things don’t go the way that you always want them to,” Stroud said. “I got my poise back and was ready to go in the second half.”
Stroud’s second half performance led the Buckeyes to a 35-17 advantage in the second half, alongside a defensive touchdown from Haskell Garrett.
Ohio State’s dynamic receiving duo of Olave and Garrett Wilson also got into a rhythm with Stroud in the second half.
The pair only combined for 31 yards on five receptions in the first half, but with an improved connection with Stroud lit up the scoreboard in the second half.
Olave and Wilson found the end zone three times in the final two frames — combining for 166 yards on four receptions.
Stroud was complementary of his receiving duo, and the corps as whole, following the game.
“I have great teammates, but I think I’m a great player, too. Maybe the first half didn’t show that, but I know I did my best in the second. I felt like I did really good in the second,” Stroud said. “Like I said, in the game of football, you have ups and downs, and they believe in me. They put me in a situation to get them the ball. That’s a big opportunity for me. That’s a big task. I feel like I did that.”
The Buckeyes defense also had its fair share of struggles in the first half, especially in the run defense.
Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim gashed the Buckeyes for 114 yards in the game’s first two quarters and found the end zone on a 1-yard carry to give the Gophers the 14-10 lead they brought into the locker room.
Ibrahim found the end zone once more in the second half, but an apparent ankle injury late in the third quarter sidelined him for the rest of the night.
Ohio State’s defense locked in, holding the Gophers to just 79 yards on the ground in the second half.
Day said they stuck to the plan of playing depth in order to get a sense of what they were working with, as the Buckeyes trotted out seven first-time defensive starters.
“We recruited a lot of young players. We lost those four linebackers. Because of that, you can see that we played, we matched some personnel a little bit differently this game,” Day said. “Now we’re going to have to go back and assess and really get a feel for that because when you’re going in scrimmage and practice, you get a good feel for things, but you don’t really know until you get into a game. I think it’s going to sort itself out a little bit, but we do like playing depth. Guys who deserve to play are going to.”
As the Buckeyes look ahead to a marquee matchup next Saturday against No. 11 Oregon, Stroud emphasized the importance of being able to bounce back from adversity.
“Going into the Oregon week, you never know what could happen,” Stroud said. “It could happen again, but it’s all about what you’re going to do when you get punched in the mouth.”
