No pun intended, but the Buckeyes are in a "Kill' spot here. A big factor why is Minnesota having little left in the tank after an emotional home game last week against Michigan. That was the Gophers' first game following Jerry Kill's resignation due to health reasons.

The Gophers gave everything they had as double-digit 'dogs, but lost 29-26. The Gophers had driven all the way to Michigan's 1-yard line at the end of the game, but were stuffed and didn't execute good clock management.

Now the physical and emotionally-spent Gophers go on the road against the top team in the nation. Making matters worse for Minnesota is that Ohio State is rested after being idle last week. Urban Meyer teams are 15-4-1 ATS off a bye, 7-2 ATS the past nine times.

Ohio State is 22-1 since last season. They have won the statistics battle in every one of those 23 games.

J.T. Barrett is suspended, but I see no drop-off in quarterbacks for the Buckeyes with Cardale Jones. He's a monster upgrade on Minnesota's Mitch Leidner, one of my least favorite quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Leidner has only two more touchdowns than interceptions. Ohio State backup quarterback Braxton Miller is far better than Leidner.

It's not just Jones. The Buckeyes are loaded everywhere, including running back where Ezekiel Elliott leads the Big Ten in rushing and has rushed for triple digits in his last 13 games.