It was a little scary for a while Thursday night, but Ohio State found itself and was able to pull away in the second half thanks to a number of big plays that provided enough breathing room to win in Minneapolis.
As always, the Ohio State coaching staff identified its Players of the Game after going through the game film and talking things over, and in each case, big plays had a lot to do with it.
The two Offensive Players of the Game were running back Miyan Williams and receiver Chris Olave. Williams opened the scoring with a 71-yard touchdown run on the first drive and finished the game with 125 yards on nine rushing attempts.
Olave had himself a day as well. He caught four passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, two of them the big play variety where he showed off his smooth route running and elite speed.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive end Zach Harrison took home Player of the Game honors. We all remember his strip of Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan that led to a Haskell Garrett touchdown, but he also found himself in the backfield often and had a lot more impact than the three tackles the stat sheet says.
Lastly, the Special Teams Player of the Game was handed out to tight end Mitch Rossi for his work in that area of the contest.
With the win, Ohio State has now won 22-straight season openers, the best in all of college football. The Buckeyes now turn their attention to Oregon, who will take flight into the ‘Shoe next Saturday.
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