Opening the season on the road, in the rain and against a B1G opponent is not the ideal situation to introduce true freshmen to college football. However, Ryan Day had confidence to play eight members of the 2021 class in Ohio State's 45-31 victory over Minnesota.
Rare Defensive Start
Denzel Burke became the first true freshman defensive player to start an opening game on the road for Ohio State since at least 1945. P.J. Fleck made sure to test the defensive back from Saguaro High School (Scottsdale, AZ) as the Gophers threw his way often.