Here's what Ohio State Buckeyes said after blowing out Minnesota

For the remaining doubters, Saturday’s victory sent a clear message that the training wheels have officially been taken off the redshirt freshman signal-caller.

The Golden Gophers were missing their starting free safety, Aidan Gousby, along with second-stringer Garrison Monroe.

Whether that prompted Minnesota to run more man coverage during the game is unknown, but wide receiver Carnell Tate certainly knew.

Tate’s nine receptions for 183 yards both marked career highs for the junior wide receiver, with the cherry on top being the two receiving touchdowns.

“We were just shocked that they came out in man [coverage],” Tate said.

Even when being shadowed by the No. 1 cornerback on the roster, John Nestor, with secondary help from ball-hawking safety Koi Perich, Jeremiah Smith still got open, collecting 67 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions.

Tate and Smith have created healthy competition as two of the most talented wideouts in the conference.

“We’re always pushing each other out there to make the better play. We’re always pushing each other to get each other open,” Tate said.

A Gopher defense that had allowed only 65 rushing yards per game had that metric more than doubled, allowing 133 yards on the ground to the Buckeyes’ three-headed committee.

The mixture of quick throws and deep crossers defined the Buckeye offense that showed efficiency through the air and on the ground.

“When you can be accurate underneath and get the ball out quick, but then also down the field, that’s when our offense can really be cooking on all cylinders,” Day said.

The Golden Gophers’ first drive erased almost seven minutes off the clock and ended in a field goal.

It felt like Minnesota was capable of recapturing the same magic it gathered in its win against Rutgers.

Those would be the only points it would score.

Drake Lindsey started 8-of-10 on the opening drive. After that, he went 7-of-16 and finished with 94 passing yards.

Game script and the desire to ease Darius Taylor back into action left Minnesota without its star runner for most of the second half, rushing the ball eight times for an inefficient 12 yards.

Highlight reel plays were in no shortage on the Buckeyes' defense, holding the Gophers to only 162 total yards

“You see guys getting more excited about other guys making plays, and that’s just huge,” said linebacker Sonny Styles. “We love each other, and we love to see each other do that.”

Nine different Buckeyes tallied half a tackle for loss or more, adding up to seven for the team.

The control at the line of scrimmage, in addition to linebackers Sonny Styles, Payton Pierce and Arvell Reese powering a defense that has yet to give up a red zone touchdown all year.

The team lowered its points allowed per game from 5.5 to 5, still the best in college football.

Day also mentioned that there will be things on film that the coaching staff will be frustrated with, and Sayin had the same mindset.

“We’re not where we want to be as an offense, yet we’re still growing and developing every day,” Sayin said.

The same hunger and desperation the Buckeyes have been playing with since the start of the 2024 playoffs has stayed with a new roster and will have plenty more tests in the second half of the year.

“If we train harder than anybody else in the country and prepare harder than anyone else in the country, it shouldn’t matter who we play,” Day said.

Next time out, the Buckeyes will travel to Urbana-Champaign to defend the Illibuck Trophy against the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini.