COLUMBUS, Ohio — Minnesota moved the ball 66 yards down the field on its opening drive against Ohio State. Then it managed to only gain 96 yards for the rest of the game.

The Buckeyes’ defense continues to prove that just because you lose eight NFL Draft picks off a team that won a national title, that doesn’t mean you have to take a step back. Five games into the season, only twice has a team reached the endzone, and the Golden Gophers are the latest to fight out why in a 42-3 game.

Plenty of players stood out in the Big Ten home opener, but Lorenzo Styles Jr. had his best performance since making the transition from wide receiver to safety. Styles recorded three tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and even had a 36-yard punt return on a trick play. His efforts earned him a Pro Football grade of 84.3, leading all Buckeyes.

Here’s how the rest of the defense graded out:

(PFF grades every player on every play and uses a scale of 0-100, with higher grades indicating better play. PFF has explained its grades this way: 100-90 elite; 89-85 Pro Bowler; 84-70 starter; 69-60 backup; 59-0 replaceable. In other words, it’s similar to how we would match up percentages with traditional letter grades in school.)

NOTE: Snap counts in parentheses.

DEFENSIVE END

Kenyatta Jackson: 83.4 (13)

Zion Grady: 76.6 (10)

Caden Curry: 72.7 (38)

Epi Sitanilei: 61.7 (2)

Logan George: 56.5 (8)

Joshua Mickens: 54.8 (6)

Beau Atkinson: 53.3 (28)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Eddrick Houston: 83.4 (17)

Will Smith Jr.: 73.3 (22)

Jarquez Carter: 66.3 (7)

Tywone Malone: 62.4 (19)

Trajen Odom: 60.9 (2)

Kayden McDonald: 58.7 (24)

LINEBACKER

Payton Pierce: 74.9 (24)

Sonny Styles: 65.9 (45)

Riley Pettijohn: 65.8 (5)

Arvell Reese: 65.2 (41)

TJ Alford: 31.2 (4)

CORNERBACK

Davison Igbinosun: 69.3 (46)

Jermaine Mathews: 66.3 (46)

Bryce West: 63.2 (4)

Aaron Scott Jr.: 63.1 (5)

Devin Sanchez: 65.5 (11)

SAFETY

Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 84.5 (27)

Caleb Downs: 72.3 (46)

Jaylen McClain: 64.3 (46)

Leroy Roker: 61.3 (6)

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