Hartman: Kill says beating Ohio State would be his biggest win ever

Jerry Kill considers the Gophers' contest with Ohio State on Saturday maybe the biggest game in his 29 years of coaching.

Beating Nebraska last year was big, but Kill said that that beating the eighth-rated Buckeyes would be even bigger.

Kill believes Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten.

"Well, I knew they were pretty good, but that just emphasized how good they are, because I know how good Michigan State's defense is," Kill said about the Buckeyes' 49-37 victory over Michigan State. "You know, they were able to run the ball. They were able to throw it. And again, [J.T. Barrett] threw it with such accuracy. And they keep you off-balance because you gotta stop him on the run game or he's going to run, and their tailback's very good. And then about the time you have to line up and stop the run, you gotta play coverage, and he gets people one-on-one and he hits them all the time.

"And his receivers are good. I mean they're just executing at a high level, so, yes, I mean I didn't think that they would be able to put that many points on the board.

"It's one of those things, I would tell you is that [injured OSU quarterback] Braxton Miller is very, very good, but this young man, they've done a great job of bringing him along, and he has the same type of running ability, but he throws the ball better right now, I believe, than what Braxton did, and Braxton threw it good. But this kid's on fire right now. And we haven't seen any receivers like this since we played TCU, I mean with that type of speed."

What do the Gophers have to do to have a chance to beat the Buckeyes?

"So it's really kind of the same principles we went into last week, field position."

Ohio State did lose to Virginia Tech at home and had to go to two overtimes to win at Penn State. So the Gophers coaches no doubt spent a lot of time this week studying films of those games to learn how those two teams were able to have better luck against the Buckeyes than other opponents.

Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring offense at 46.0 points per game (both nonconference and conference games), but in their loss to Virginia Tech, and their double-overtime victory over Penn State, the Buckeyes scored just 21 and 31 points respectively. And in the Penn State game, Ohio State had just 17 points in regulation.

The Buckeyes defense has been middle-of-the-road by Big Ten standards, allowing 21.8 points per game, which ranks them sixth overall, one spot behind the Gophers. So Minnesota could have a decent chance of putting up some big offensive numbers. But the Buckeyes run defense has been stingy, allowing just 103.0 yards per game in Big Ten play, while the Gophers have the fifth-best rushing offense at 214.8 yards per game.

Barrett has thrown seven interceptions, but five of those came against Virginia Tech and Penn State. Barrett hasn't thrown an interception in his past two games while passing for five touchdowns and running for two more. Against Michigan State he went 16-for-26 for 300 yards and three TDs while also rushing for 86 yards and two more scores.

It's also worth noting that Ohio State will be minus H-back Dontre Wilson, after he underwent surgery for a broken foot. Wilson had a crucial touchdown reception in the Buckeyes' victory over Michigan State.

Scott Ellison, associate athletic director for the Gophers, said that the university is making progress on construction of the new academic building.

"We have meetings next week to look at plans for the academic building," said Ellison. "We have the architect, it's BWBR, which is a local firm, and RDG which is out of Iowa."

The academic building will be built on the site of the current outdoor track. Ellison said a site on the farm campus has yet to be chosen for the track, but it's just a question of university officials deciding where it will be. However for one year, while the academic building is being erected, and the track is being built, an off-campus track will have to be utilized by Gophers athletes.

• The Vikings were hoping to play another game in London next year, but those hopes were dashed when the six other teams were announced for the three games. ... The Vikings have traditionally done very well coming out of the bye week, as they will this weekend in Chicago. The Vikings are 17-8 after a bye but have lost their past four. Against division opponents the Vikings are 10-5 coming out of a bye, and are 2-3 against the Bears....The Vikings' injury report for the Bears game lists only two players, the lowest of the season. One of those listed is tight end Kyle Rudolph, who has been practicing and will play for sure. The other is tight end Chase Ford, who took part in practice Thursday. ... Indications are strong that none of the coaches who worked under Ron Gardenhire, including Terry Stenbach, who was Gardenhire's bench coach, will be working under new manager Paul Molitor. However, there is a good chance that Joe Vavra will get some type of position in the organization.

• Former Gophers wide reciver Eric Decker is leading the Jets in receptions (43), receiving yards (450) and touchdowns (four). In the Jets' victory over Pittsburgh last week, their first since Week 1, he had four receptions for 24 yards.