Gophers’ Magic Runs Out Against Ohio State

MINNEAPOLIS -- On a bitterly cold and snowy day at TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota held their own against the Big Ten's best but in the end, #8 Ohio State was too much as they go on to beat the #25 Gophers, 31-24.

Ohio State's breakout redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett dissected the Gophers defense with 200 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Barrett also shredded Minnesota's defense with 189 rushing yards - including an 86-yarder that gave the Buckeyes an early 7-0 lead.

Trailing 14-0 late in the first quarter, the Gophers began to stage a comeback.

Cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun swung the momentum with a nice, over-the-shoulder interception on a deep pass from Barrett.

The Gophers drove down the field and capped it off with a five-yard David Cobb touchdown run.

The senior running back Cobb, in his final game at TCF Bank Stadium in his college career, made it a memorable one - finishing with 145 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

His best run came on a third-and-15 at the Ohio State 30-yard line.

Cobb took the hand off up the middle, cut up field, made a man miss, and scampered the rest of the 30 yards for a game-tying score.

Ultimately, the lack of a passing attack from Minnesota proved to be the difference as Ohio State intercepted quarterback Mitch Leidner twice and scored 17 unanswered points.

Leidner struggled, completing 7-of-19 passes for only 85 yards for the game.

After throwing picks on consecutive possessions, Leidner led a drive that ended with Cobb's third touchdown of the day.

Later in the fourth, the Gophers recovered a fumble in Ohio State territory and kicker Ryan Santoso, who hit the upright on a 52-yard attempt earlier, connected on a 34-yarder to bring the game within one score.

The Gophers' comeback would run out of time as they fall to 7-3 on the season (4-2 in the Big Ten) after the hard-fought 31-24 loss.

Minnesota looks to rebound next Saturday against the #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-1) in Lincoln.