Buckeyes Beat Minnesota 45-31 After Slow Start

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — There was a moment of panic for Ohio State football fans.

It lasted through two tense quarters and a weirdly relieving halftime. The vaunted Buckeyes were struggling on the gridiron against a veteran Minnesota Gophers squad and the halftime score was 14-10.

New quarterback CJ Stroud wasn't getting much help. He'd thrown a tipped-pass interception in the second quarter. He didn't have many yards through the air. The offense was stuck in neutral, grinding its gears and just not moving.

Then the second half started.

Touchdown drive after touchdown drive after touchdown drive for the redshirt freshman quarterback. Stroud was throwing bombs all over the yard. In the second half, his average completion went for...47.2 yards. He tossed four touchdowns and they capped completions of 38 yards, 51 yards, 61 yards, and 70 yards.

The sluggish first half forgotten, Ohio State wracked up 495 total yards, including 294 through the air. The Gophers weren't able to hang with the No. 4 ranked team in the nation, eventually losing 45-31.

The Buckeyes won't get much rest or a cakewalk game to celebrate their new-found groove. Instead, they'll return to Columbus where they'll take on a major challenger — Oregon — on Sept. 11.