The Ohio State University is nicknamed after Aesculus glabra, which is better known as the Ohio buckeye tree.  Ohio State has several stars and future NFL players on their roster, but one star in particular is shining brighter than the others in Columbus.  This Saturday, the Gophers will be facing a quarterback who, unlike a tree, will not remain planted in his designated zone.  If the Golden Gophers are to have a chance at toppling the mighty Buckeyes, they must first contain Terrelle Pryor.

Terrelle Pryor was the consensus top high school recruit in America for 2008.  He is a dual-threat quarterback with blazing speed and a cannon for an arm.  I’d go into more detail regarding his skills, but the following video pretty much sums it up:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFSn9yuH1v4&feature=related]

In order to contain Terrelle Pryor, the Gophers need to take advantage of his inexperience.  The key to limiting Pryor will be preventing him from scrambling and forcing him to pass to secondary and tertiary receivers.  As a true freshman, the Ohio State gameplan for Pryor will likely be for him to both scramble and hit his primary receiving options.  If he is forced to look beyond his primary targets, his inexperience may render him vulnerable.  It is not unreasonable to predict that if Terrelle Pryor is under pressure he could be prone to mistakes.

As I mentioned earlier, there are several stars amongst the men of the scarlet and gray.  The young Gopher squad must have all of those stars in alignment in order to pull off an upset.  All American Minnesota native James Laurinaitis could be starting in the NFL as a linebacker, but instead decided to play his senior year for the Buckeyes.  Along with a defense that is two-deep with blue chip recruits, he will present a formidable challenge to Adam Weber and the Gopher offense.  Brian Robiskie is one of the top wide receivers in the nation, and will test the revamped Gopher defense.  Ohio State star running back Chris “Beanie” Wells has been injured, but if he plays will test the Minnesota run defense with his size and speed.

Saturday will be a progress test for the Gophers.  The Minnesota offense will likely score between 14 and 24 points, but needs a stellar performance from the defense to keep the game competitive.  The Aesculus gabra tree is supposedly nicknamed the buckeye due to seeds that resemble the eyes of a white-tailed deer “buck“.  If the Gophers can prevent Terrelle Pryor from running like a deer through Ohio Stadium, they will have aligned the first of several stars that could result in a major turning point for the Gopher Football program.  Gopher Nation should hope for a deer in headlights.

Have no delusions, the Gophers are definitely the underdogs in this matchup.  However, compared to last year they now have the talent to stay in the game.  An upset would require a defensive scheme that contains Pryor and limits the running game, a solid offensive performance, and flawless special teams play.  That’s quite a bit to ask, but definitely not impossible.  Check back later this week as I review previews from Ohio State media and blogs.