Gophers defense leaves much room for growth after second-half thrashing by Ohio State

The Gophers' major defensive improvement under coordinator Joe Rossi kept them in many games two years ago and became a big part of the team's winning identity during a historic 11-win season.

After a down year last season, the Gophers being able to lean on their defense once again is a key to reviving the success from 2019.

Thursday's opening 45-31 loss to Ohio State left much to be desired on being able to slow down a prolific offense.

The Buckeyes had 495 yards in total offense, including 236 yards passing and four touchdowns in the second half. They had five plays of 30-plus yards in the game, three of which spanned 50 yards or more.

"We were a little exposed at times," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "That's one of the better offenses I've ever coached against just because they're everywhere. They make you cover the entire field with first-round draft picks everywhere. And it wasn't good enough."

It would be easy to just chalk up the thrashing by Ohio State in the second half to the Buckeyes having just too much NFL talent. But Fleck admitted that "the standard is a standard" when it comes to his expectation for the Gophers defense. It doesn't matter how good the offense is on the other side. The defense can't let opponents score at that rate.

"We did that first half," Fleck said about taking a 14-10 lead. "And we didn't do that well in the second half."

Ohio State being able to run the ball successfully early set the stage for success through play-action passes.

Rookie starting quarterback C.J. Stroud had a shaky start, but once he got comfortable there was little stopping his plethora of weapons, including All-America receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

"First game is always up in the air on what to expect," defensive end Boye Mafe said. "You can't know the identity of the offense based on the first game of the year, especially with a new quarterback."

The defensive play of the game for the Gophers was Terell Smith's interception on Stroud that kept Ohio State from extending its lead to double digits in the second quarter.

Earlier on the same drive, though, safety Jordan Howden went down with a leg injury and didn't return. His veteran presence in the secondary was missing in the second half.

In 2019, the Gophers ranked second in the Big Ten in total defense (306.6 yards allowed per game), but they also led the league in pass defense (184.2) and made 13 interceptions.

The U's strength on defense appears to be up front this year, but Rossi decided not to bring too much pressure Thursday. "That would expose us in a lot of areas," Fleck said.

The only big play in the first half for Ohio State was a 71-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Gophers then gave up pass plays of 70, 61, 56, and 38 yards in the second half.

Once the Buckeyes realized where their upset-minded opponent's weakness were defensively, they exploited those areas mightily.

"They were doing a lot of shifts, a lot of motions and unique formations that challenged our communication at times," linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin said. "There's a very small margin of error when you're going up against an opponent like that."