What We Learned About the Minnesota Gophers in Homecoming Disaster vs Ohio State

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NCAA Football: Minnesota Gophers at Ohio State Buckeyes
Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Gophers faced their toughest regular season task of the 2025 season on Saturday night in Columbus against the nation’s No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Obviously, when you play on the road against arguably the most talented team in the country — a school that hand-picks its players every year in both the transfer portal and on the high school recruiting trail — odds are going to be stacked against you. That’s why the Gophers came in 23.5 point underdogs against the Buckeyes.

But this season, OSU came in as less of a high-powered team on offense, and more so built on the juggernaut it has built on the other side of the football. Entering Saturday, the Buckeyes defense ranked 1st nationally in points allowed per game (5.5), 8th in yards allowed (132.0) and 6th in first downs allowed (12.5).

What We Learned – Minnesota vs Ohio State

NCAA Football: Minnesota Gophers at Ohio State Buckeyes
Credit: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

And the Minnesota Golden Gophers found out pretty quickly tonight in Columbus that, not only is the Buckeyes defense legit, but their offense is still unbelievably dangerous.

We’ll get into all of the numbers below, but what we learned on Saturday night is that our favorite college football team does not belong on the same field with the best teams in the country, which the Buckeyes clearly proved they are tonight at the Horseshoe, during a completely dominant 42-3 romping of the Gophers.

Minnesota Gophers start hot… then go ice cold

If Minnesota was going to have any chance to keep the game tight in Columbus, they had to play near perfect offensively and defensively. On top of that, they needed redshirt sophomore quarterback Drake Lindsey to do something this program has never really seen out of its QB.

The MN Gophers needed the right arm of their 20-year-old quarterback to keep them in it. Early on, he looked like he might be up to the challenge, starting the game 7-of-7, including an eye-opening first drive that seemed to catch the Buckeyes defense off-guard.

Unfortunately, that first 13-play, 66 yard drive ended in a field goal, which ended up being the only three points Minnesota scored in the entire first half. After his smoking hot start, Lindsey completed just 4 for his next 12, passes and finished the half 11-of-19 for only 99 yards.

It was Drake’s efficiency during the Gophers initial drive that made everyone watching believe, if only for a couple of minutes, that Minnesota stood a chance tonight vs the best team in the country.

But once Ohio State went to man defense, receivers struggled to get open, reads dried up and Lindsey was a sitting duck for the Buckeyes’ immensely talented pass rush… a recipe for disaster.

Minnesota does not belong on the same field as Ohio State

The second half on Saturday night didn’t get any better. After gaining 74 yards in the first quarter, the Minnesota Golden Gophers offense managed just 36 total yards in the second and third quarters combined (-1 yard in the 3rd).

Meanwhile, Ohio State’s struggles to find big plays on offense went out the window Saturday, as they hit on SIX pass plays for over 15 yards (232 yards total) and FOUR rush attempts that went for 10 or more yards (66 yards total).

The MN Gophers hit on FOUR big plays total, only one of which came from Lindsey — his 1st drive pass down the seam to Jameson Geers. When the dust finally settled in Columbus, Lindsey was 15-of-26 for 93 yards and 0 touchdowns.

In total, The Gophers offense mustered only 162 yards against Ohio State’s more than formidable defense, where they failed to gain even ONE first down after the first drive of the game. The Buckeyes offense, however, countered with 474 total yards, 326 of which came on the arm of Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin.

The Ohio State starting QB and Heisman outside candidate went 23-of-27 (85%) passing and threw 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Carnell Tate caught 9 of those passes for a total of 183 yards and 1 touchdown.

How do the MN Gophers respond to this brutal loss?

While it’s certainly demoralizing in the moment, Saturday’s loss does not reflect on the eventual success or failure of Minnesota’s 2025 season, but it certainly was a reminder just how far away we are from competing with the national elites, like Ohio State.

Thankfully, they do not have to. Next up on the Gophers 2025 schedule is back at Huntington Bank Stadium against the Purdue Boilermakers. After that, they have Nebraska (home), Iowa (away) and Michigan State (home), before they head west to play another elite, the Oregon Ducks.

In other words, the Minnesota Gophers’ 2025 season will not be dictated by tonight’s results. It will be decided by how they respond and play over the next four weeks, between their matchups against two of the best teams, not just in the conference, but in the nation.

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