The breakout player from Ohio State tore through Minnesota once more, but Michigan has never seen this: Nathan Baird’s findings

Three takeaways from Saturday’s 37-3 Ohio State football victory over Minnesota.

1. Against Minnesota, TreVeyon Henderson made a game-changing start to his career. He demonstrated his progress over the past two years by doing the same to the Gophers on Saturday.

In that 2021 game at TCF Bank Stadium, Henderson had only a few strong runs under his belt. Making his starting debut as well, C.J. Stroud passed the ball to the highly regarded five-star rushing back. Before a Gopher defender could attempt a fruitless diving play at his feet, he was already twenty yards upfield. Raising hopes for what might happen next, he coasted to a 70-yard touchdown reception.

What followed featured more frustration than celebration, particularly in the last season. By the end of that first season, his health was not entirely restored. In the second half, Michigan famously stopped him on back-to-back short-yardage carries, which set the tone for the remainder of the game.

By the time of Michigan’s game last season, he was far from well; a foot injury kept him out of the game for the Buckeyes’ second straight loss in The Game.

Henderson is finally able to take aim at the Wolverines without fear. Compared to early in the season or even back in 2021, he is a different running back. He is more capable than ever of creating his own explosive opportunities, as demonstrated by the jump-cut masterclass he performed against Minnesota.

The initial instance Only nine yards were covered on Saturday since the count ends when the ball crosses the goal line. During the first drive, tight end Gee Scott Jr. crashed over to fight a defender, while Henderson raced left to reach the line of scrimmage. Henderson needed to change direction despite the block, going from horizontal to vertical very instantly. As he made his approach to the end zone, gopher arms waved at him.

But what really stood out against Minnesota was his second career breakaway, which came on the opening play of the second half. Tyler Nubin, an All-Big Ten safety, moved fast to block Henderson’s attempt to go to the left side in a B-gap run. He then sprang outside once more, tucked himself in between Julian Fleming’s crucial block and Nubin’s attempt to recover and chase, and raced off for a touchdown run that was 75 yards in length.

On his 17 touches, Henderson gained 172 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to yielding 159 yards and no snaps inside the OSU 36, Minnesota’s 48 offensive plays produced no touchdowns.

Once we get him back to the second level, “he’s a home run hitter, and the more opportunities he gets, the more dangerous he is,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day stated. “Everyone has a responsibility to get him there.”

Day made mention of Fleming and Emeka Egbuka’s downfield blocking, and he is not incorrect. However, Henderson’s leadership and vision now provide the offense a dimension that it sorely lacked in The Game the previous two seasons.

After a month-long absence due to an upper-body injury, Henderson has returned as a different back. When he appears to be running on the field with the freshest legs possible, that’s precisely what’s happening. That extra surge could be the difference between victory and defeat in a game between two top defenses that will probably be determined by narrow margins.

2. Day also felt, (after the fact), that the decision to toss the ball in the last seconds of the first half was strange.

He admitted that, looking back, he ought to have rushed the ball and taken the 13-0 lead along with the jeers of the senior day crowd. Rather, with less than two minutes remaining, Ohio State took the lead at its own 3-point line and made the decision to try and steal some points before halftime. It was first-and-15 from the 16 after a false start penalty resulted in a first down. In order to prevent a 10-second runoff, Ohio State called a timeout.

These were the next three snaps: