The Minnesota Golden Gophers have lost back-to-back games for the second time this season and will look to find their sixth win on Saturday in dramatic fashion by taking on No. 3 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes enter this weekend undefeated at 10-0 and are looking to set up an undefeated, "Game of the Century" showdown with Michigan next weekend. Could the Gophers potentially catch the Buckeyes overlooking them and instead trip them up? It seems unlikely but here's everything you need to know about Saturday's matchup including how to watch, weather, and more.
When, Where, How to Watch:
When: November 18, 2023 - 3:30 p.m. CT
Where: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium - 102,780)
TV: BTN | Cory Provus (PxP), Jake Butt (Analyst), Brooke Fletcher (Reporter)
Radio: KFAN | Mike Grimm (Pxp), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter)
SiriusXM: 388/SiriusXM App
Coaching matchup
Minnesota - P.J. Fleck (7th year at Minnesota ; 11th overall)
- Career Record: 79-54
- Record at Minnesota: 49-33
- Record against Ohio State: 0-3
Ohio State- Ryan Day (5th year at Ohio State; 5th overall)
- Career Record: 55-6
- Record at Ohio State: 55-6
- Record against Minnesota: 1-0
Series History - Minnesota leads 41-34-3
Ohio State has dominated the series all-time between the two programs, winning 46 of 53 matchups including each of the last 12 games. The Gophers' last win in Columbus came in 2000, a 29-17 victory for the Gophers.
Betting
Ohio State remains a major favorite in the matchup as a 27.5-point favorite, the over/under for the game is set at 40.5 points.
Weather
According to Accuweather, Saturday will be a nice day in Columbus with a high of 50. There will be some wind which makes it a bit chilly at times but overall it should be a rather perfect Autumn afternoon for football.
MINNESOTA GAME NOTES
Courtesy of the Minnesota Athletic Department
1. Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, Minnesota (5-5, 3-4 B1G) plays its final road game of the season Saturday as it visits No. 3/3 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 B1G). Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. on BTN.
2. Dragan Kesich is having one of the best seasons by a kicker in Minnesota program history. A semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in his first season as the primary kicker, Kesich is 21-of25 on field goals, good for an 84.0 percent conversion rate. His 2.10 field goals per game lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally. Kesich's 8.5 points per game are second in the Big Ten (first among kickers), and his field goal percentage is fourth in the conference. His 21 makes this year are the third most in program history, just four back of Dan Nystrom's record of 25 set in 2000. Kesich's field goal percentage is fourth best by a Gopher kicker since 1977 (min. 10 attempts), and his 85 points are ninth best since 1965. The twotime Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week has eight games this year with multiple made field goals, including three with at least three made and a career-high four at Iowa on Oct. 21. In his career, Kesich is 21-of-26 for an 80.8 success rate that is first in program history (min. 25 attempts). More on Kesich can be found on Page 9 of the notes.
3. Gopher history was made when Jordan Nubin was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after his standout performance against Michigan State on Oct. 28. His win marked the ninth time this season that Minnesota had a weekly honor from the Big Ten, breaking the program record of eight set in 2018 and matched in 2019. In addition to Jordan Nubin's honor, Tyler Nubin has been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice, while Dragan Kesich can say the same for Special Teams Player of the Week. Freshman of the Week has gone to Darius Taylor three times, tying a program record, and Zach Evans has won it once. Since Freshman of the Week was introduced in 2010, the only other season that Minnesota has won all four awards came in 2014. More information on each weekly award winner can be found throughout the notes.
4. Since 2021, Minnesota has seen seven different running backs combine for 26 100-yard rushing games: Mohamed Ibrahim (10), Ky Thomas (5), Mar'Keise Irving (3), Trey Potts (3), Darius Taylor (3), Jordan Nubin (1) and Bryce Williams (1). Ibrahim (2) and Nubin (1) have also combined for three 200-yard games. Within the Big Ten, only Michigan State and Nebraska (five each) have had more than four different 100-yard rushers since 2021. In addition, Michigan joins Minnesota as the only teams to have multiple 200-yard rushers in that same time span.
5. The 2023 campaign is the seventh for head coach P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, where his record is 49-32. He is fifth in program history for overall wins, Big Ten wins (29) and games coached (81). Fleck's .605 win percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, ‘45-50). In his 11th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 79-54 (.594). 1
OHIO STATEÂ GAME NOTES
Courtesy of the Ohio State Athletic Department
- Ohio State concludes its six-game, 2023 home schedule with a 4 p.m. game Saturday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the Big Ten Network. Senior members of the team will be honored before kickoff .
- Ohio State has won 11 consecutive games over the Golden Gophers, 27 of the last 28 and 39 of the last 41 in this series that began in 1921.
- The overall series record has Ohio State holding a 46-7 all-time advantage in wins. f Ohio State has won six consecutive games over Minnesota at Ohio Stadium and all-time holds a 24-3 record in games played in Columbus.
- The Buckeyes are riding at least a 10-game winning streak for the 17th time in the history of the program.
- Ohio State is fourth all-time nationally with 30 seasons with 10-or-more victories. f Ohio State has won seven consecutive games the week before the annual season finale against Michigan. MSU defeated OSU, 17-14, in 2015 the week before The Game.
- WR1 Marvin Harrison Jr. is 2nd nationally with 12 receiving TDs and 7th with 1,063 yards.
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