Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck discussed a variety of topics with the media as he prepares for Ohio State. Among those topics was his rushing attack that has struggled through four games. Aside of a 258-yard performance against FCS opponent Northwestern State, the Gophers have had trouble moving the ball on the ground. Something they can’t afford to do in Week 6 against this Buckeye defense.

When Fleck was asked about the Buckeyes, he gave them their flowers. He credited Washington for putting up six points against them, which, as he put it, was one more than opponents usually manage. “So Washington did a good job scoring one more point than what they’re averaging. So that’s above average performance,” Fleck said, before launching into a breakdown that sounded more like a scouting report.

“They’re really, really good at understanding how it all works. You can see how the front seven understand how the back end works. The back end understands how the front seven works. They work cohesively together, they’re relentless. I mean, those four guys up front, I mean, they get into double legal packages, and they are straight up the field,” he explained. The Buckeyes were able to put a stop to the highest-scoring offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Washington had averaged 55.7 points per game through the last four weeks.

Fleck further pointed out the way defensive line coach Larry Johnson has built that group into a quarterback’s worst nightmare. “They’re coming after the quarterback. And if the run happens to get in the way, they’ll tackle the run. But they’re coming after him, and they’re relentless in their pursuit. They’re really good tacklers, they’re smart. Coach Patricia (Matt) does a really good job of always keeping you guessing something different almost every single play,” Fleck continued. The Buckeyes sacked Huskies QB Desomd Williams six times, with three of them coming from a single player: Caden Curry.

The current defensive line was not spoken about much when the season began. OSU had lost all four starting defensive linemen from last season’s national championship team. This new line had no returning starting experience and brought in just two transfers. But the years as backups helped build chemistry among the line. “We’ve been together for two to three years,” Curry said. “We’ve seen guys before us, the great defensive line last year, all the guys in the NFL now, and we just learned every day off them. It definitely paid off.”

That’s the kind of defense Minnesota’s redshirt freshman QB1 Drake Lindsey now has to stare down. Lindsey has been the brightest spot in this Gophers offense, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after leading a comeback win over Rutgers. Down 14-0 in the first half, he completed 75% of his passes, piled up 324 yards, and tossed three touchdowns in a 31-28 win. He became the first Gopher this season to earn a weekly Big Ten award.

As for Minnesota’s rushing game, it remains a big problem. Against Buffalo and California, they averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. Against Rutgers, it dipped to 1.9 yards on 18 attempts. That kind of imbalance won’t hold up against an OSU defense designed to suffocate one-dimensional teams. Fleck knows it, and he practically said as much when describing how the Buckeyes “don’t allow you to ever get into a rhythm, because you’re getting something different constantly.”

And still, Minnesota has found ways to score. They’re averaging 33.5 points and over 400 yards per game despite their run game struggles, thanks largely to Lindsey’s emergence. That passing attack has turned into a lifeline. But against Ohio State, even lifelines can snap if the defense keeps coming in waves. Coach Fleck summed up the task with his usual blend of optimism and urgency. “We have to be us. We have to build the game plan according to who we are, and put ourselves in a position to execute at a very, very high level.” More or less, he means, Lindsey might need to be spectacular for them to have a chance.

Fleck calls for consistency in Gophers’ run game

When Fleck was pressed on his team’s sputtering run game, he didn’t dodge. He pointed to the little things, the kinds of details that separate a decent ground attack from a reliable one. “I think just consistency, staying on our blocks a little bit longer,” he said. “We gotta be able to break some tackles. We’ve gone down by tripping over an ankle.”

Fleck doubled down, calling it more about rhythm than raw effort. “But I think it’s just consistency,” he reiterated. He made sure to credit his players’ buy-in too. “Guys are playing their tail ends off. I mean, that’s definitely not the, I don’t know if there’s necessarily an issue,” Fleck explained. “I think overall in the run game, everybody can do something a little bit better. We can either finish a block, or we can finish a run a little bit better.”

Getting the rushing attack going against No. 1 Ohio State will be their most difficult task. The Buckeyes have smothered opponents so far, allowing only 97.2 rushing yards per game while surrendering just 5.5 points and 229.3 total yards per contest.