There were signs this was coming. There were signs that Ohio State, despite all that offense and all those glorious wideouts, despite a stable of blue-chip quarterbacks and the perfect head coach to accompany them, despite playing in a conference in which it is rarely tested, would lose a game like this.
These signs have been lingering for months—back to January when the Buckeyes defense was torched by Alabama in the national championship. Back only nine days ago when Minnesota, which barely slipped past Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, nearly pushed Ohio State to the brink.
And Saturday afternoon, despite the return of one of the best home fields in all of college football, those concerns were realized.