Ohio State
11-0 , 8-0
Minnesota
5-6 , 3-5
Buckeyes Dominate Minnesota 37-3 on Senior Day
11/18/2023 6:45:00 PM | Football
After a slow first half, Ohio State scored a pair of touchdowns in less than a minute to open the third quarter and break the game en route to a 37-3 victory on Senior Day .
The Buckeyes, who honored 21 seniors prior to the game, improved to 11-0 on the season and 8-0 in Big Ten play while Minnesota fell to 5-6 and 3-5 in conference action. Ohio State also capped a perfect home season, winning all six games by an average of 29.7 points per game.
The Buckeye defense was dominant once again, limiting Minnesota to just 159 yards and three points. This was the second consecutive game of less than 200 total yards for an Ohio State opponent and the 159 yards are the fewest since Indiana gained just 153 in the season-opener.
Defensive end Jack Sawyer had a team-high six tackles, including 3.5 for loss and one sack.
Treveyon Henderson led the Buckeye offense with his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He finished with 146 yards on 15 carries and touchdown runs of nine yards and 75 yards. His 75-yard scamper on the first play of the second half swung all momentum and took the wind out of Minnesota’s sails.
Buckeye quarterback Kyle McCord was 20-of-30 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He found Marvin Harrison Jr. on a four-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter and tight end Cade Stover with a one-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
Emeka Egbuka led the Buckeye pass catchers with five catches for 83 yards. That was his most receptions since hauling in seven passes in the win at Notre Dame.
The win sets up the showdown that everyone’s been waiting for as undefeated Ohio State will take on undefeated Michigan in Ann Arbor next Saturday.
First quarter
After a 3-and-out on defense, the Buckeye offense methodically went 85 yards on eight plays and capped the drive with a 9-yard Treveyon Henderson touchdown run. Henderson had 48 total yards on the drive while Chip Trayanum had 25 yards on a pair of carries.
The teams then traded as Minnesota was able to pin the Buckeyes deep in their own end. The Golden Gophers had just two first downs in the quarter while the Buckeyes had seven. Marvin Harrison Jr., caught his first pass of the game on the final play of the quarter, a 20-yard catch and run.
Second quarter
The Buckeyes took the ball into Minnesota territory before settling for a 47-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding. That was the longest field goal of his career and the Buckeyes led 10-0 with 13:05 to play in the first half.
The defense forced another punt and the offense responded with another scoring drive. The drive covered 81 yards in 11 plays but stalled-out again deep in Minnesota territory and the Buckeyes got a 26-yard field goal from Fielding.
The Buckeye defense capped the opening half with yet another stop and the Buckeyes went into the locker room in front 13-0.
Minnesota was limited to just 90 total yards and four first downs in the first half. Henderson had 71 yards on the ground on 14 carries. Emeka Egbuka was the leading receiver with five catches for 83 yards.
Third quarter
The Buckeyes wasted little time in getting on the board in the third quarter as Henderson raced 75-yards on the first play of the half for a Buckeye touchdown. Fielding’s extra point made the 20-0 in favor of Ohio State.
Then on Minnesota’s first offensive play, Jack Sawyer knocked the ball out of the hands of Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and it was scooped up by fellow defensive end JT Tuimoloau. He raced 16 yards down to the Minnesota six-yard line. Three plays later, Kyle McCord hit Harrison Jr. on a slant for a four-yard touchdown connection to push the lead to 27-0.
The defense kept the pressure on as Jordan Hancock stepped in front of a Kaliakmanis pass for his second interception of the season. He brought the ball back to the Minnesota 29-yard line and the Buckeyes would collect a third field goal from Fielding, this one from 32 yards, to extend the lead to 30-0.
Fourth quarter
The Buckeyes worked their way down the field at the end of the third quarter and on the third play of the fourth quarter, McCord found his tight end Cade Stover for a one-yard touchdown reception and the Buckeyes led 37-0.
Minnesota broke up the shutout as the Golden Gopher drove across midfield and got a 54-yard field goal from Dragan Kesich with 6:43 remaining in the game.
That was the end of the scoring as the Buckeyes ran the ball and got one more three-and-out to put a stamp on the final score.
Team Stats
MIN 0, OSU 7
OSU - Henderson,TreVeyon 9 yd run (Fielding,Jayden kick), 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 04:02
MIN 0, OSU 10
OSU - Fielding,Jayden 47 yd field goal 9 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:46
MIN 0, OSU 13
OSU - Fielding,Jayden 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 81 yards, TOP 04:24
MIN 0, OSU 20
OSU - Henderson,TreVeyon 75 yd run (Fielding,Jayden kick), 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:12
MIN 0, OSU 27
OSU - Harrison Jr.,Marvin 4 yd pass from McCord,Kyle (Fielding,Jayden kick) 3 plays, 6 yards, TOP 00:43
MIN 0, OSU 30
OSU - Fielding,Jayden 32 yd field goal 5 plays, 15 yards, TOP 01:13
MIN 0, OSU 37
OSU - Stover,Cade 1 yd pass from McCord,Kyle (Fielding,Jayden kick) 16 plays, 84 yards, TOP 09:18
MIN 3, OSU 37
MIN - Kesich,Dragan 54 yd field goal 12 plays, 39 yards, TOP 07:00
