The Call: Everything to know ahead of Gophers vs. Ohio State

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m., Saturday

Where: Ohio Stadium

TV/Radio: NBC, 100.3-FM

Line: Ohio State by 23½ (44.5 over/under)

The Gophers face their stiffest challenge to date this season with a trip to Ohio State, the nation’s top-ranked team and the defending national champion. The Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are winning with dominant defense, having given up only 5.5 points per game. For the Gophers (3-1, 1-0) to win, they’ll have to buck a trend that’s seen them beat Ohio State only three times in the past 60 years: in 1966, 1981 and 2000.

Drake Lindsey on the biggest stage

The Gophers redshirt freshman quarterback rallied his team back from a 14-point second-quarter deficit against Rutgers by completing 31 of 41 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He was especially sharp on the winning drive, going 6-for-7 for 72 yards and the winning TD pass. The challenge Saturday will be a Buckeyes defense that has nine four-star recruits and two five-stars.

Taylor, Minnesota’s best running back, has missed the past two games because of an apparent hamstring injury suffered Sept. 6 vs. Northwestern State. The Gophers run game has faltered in his absence, and any chance to upset the mighty Buckeyes would figure to hinge on controlling the clock. The availability report will be released 2 hours before kickoff.

Can the Gophers upset a No. 1 team?

That’s a very tall order, especially at Columbus. The Gophers are facing the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press poll for the 17th time, and they are 3-14 in such matchups. The three victories were 27-10 over Iowa in 1960, 13-0 over Michigan State in 1961 and 16-0 over Michigan in 1977. The last time Minnesota faced a No. 1 team was in 2015, a 28-14 loss to Ohio State.

Jeremiah Smith vs. Gophers secondary

The 6-3, 223-pound sophomore is the bell cow of the Buckeyes’ always-dangerous wide receiver corps. Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns as a freshman and has 28 catches for 396 yards and four TDs this year. The Gophers secondary struggled early vs. the Rutgers passing game and can’t afford lapses against Smith.

Smith, a senior defensive end, is tied for third in the Big Ten with 4½ sacks and tied for sixth with six tackles for loss. The Gophers will need his pressure against QB Julian Sayin, who has been sacked only twice all season. Left tackle Austin Siereveld and right tackle Phillip Daniels, the former Gopher, figure to draw Smith most often on Saturday.

7 Possessions for Ohio State opponents that have reached the red zone. Two field goals resulted, and the scoring percentage (28.6%) is the lowest in the nation.

This will mark the seventh time the Gophers play Ohio State when the Buckeyes are ranked No. 1, and OSU is 6-0 in the previous matchups. This appears to be a herculean assignment for the Gophers against an Ohio State team that’s allowing only 5.5 points per game and one that rarely lets the opponent in its red zone. Minnesota rode the hot hand of Drake Lindsey to rally past Rutgers, but the Gophers will need much more — especially from the run game — to stay with the Buckeyes. They’re the reigning champs for a reason.