OHIO STATE Minnesota has nation's best running offense

Tailback Laurence Maroney is No. 1 in the Big Ten and third in the country with 162 yards a game.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- When the coach of No. 12 Ohio State takes his team to play Minnesota Saturday, he doesn't anticipate the Golden Gophers varying from what they've done so far: run the ball, run it some more and then follow up by running it even more.
At the same time, Jim Tressel doesn't believe his team will change it's philosophy of stopping the run first and then worrying about other modes of attack later.
"All good teams, and Minnesota's a very good team, do what they do best," Tressel said Tuesday.
The yardage
Minnesota (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) leads the nation in rushing, averaging nearly 300 yards per game. The Golden Gophers have put up startling rushing totals against good teams: 301 yards against Tulsa, 355 against Colorado State, 301 against Purdue, 264 against Michigan and 411 against Wisconsin.
"They're the best rushing team in America," Tressel said.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes (5-2, 3-1) have the nation's best defense against the run, allowing only 63 yards a game.
But Tressel doesn't expect Minnesota to be awed or intimidated by Ohio State's defense against the run.
"They don't turn on the film and say, 'Oh, gosh, you know, look at these statistics. We'd better not do that,' " he said. "In fact, I'm sure the way they've become so good is they've taken great pride in the fact that so-and-so's leading the nation [but] 'they haven't played us yet.' They've got a special offensive group."
The game harkens back to a simpler time in the Big Ten when Woody Hayes' Ohio State teams didn't rely on trickery -- or even the forward pass, for that matter. They ran the ball, repeatedly, and forced an opponent to either stop them or submit to them.
Mason's inclination
Minnesota coach Glen Mason, who played at Ohio State under Hayes, may not be a chip off the block of granite, but he's a firm believer that whomever wins the rushing battle will likely win the game.
He's also fully aware of what his team will confront, particularly when it comes to the Buckeyes linebacking corps of A.J. Hawk, Anthony Schlegel and Bobby Carpenter.
"They have had some great linebackers there, obviously," Mason said. "But I don't know when they've had a group like they have. That might be the difference. The guys up front are pretty big, fast and physical, too."
Minnesota is led by a bruising front wall featuring center Greg Eslinger that opens holes for tailback Laurence Maroney, first in the Big Ten and third in the country at 162 yards rushing per game.
"Their running game is tremendous," said Ohio State defensive tackle Mike Kudla. "You know they definitely want to run. Stopping the run, that's our goal but how can you really stop a team that rushes for 300 yards a game? For us, it's going to be, let's limit the big plays from their great offense. You know they're going to get some yards. We just want to limit what they can do."
Best in country
Tressel calls Maroney the best running back in the country. He said the Buckeyes can't really pattern themselves after Penn State, which locked down the Minnesota rushing game to just 113 yards in a 44-14 victory on Oct. 1 in State College, Pa.
He said Minnesota is much more formidable at home in the Metrodome.
"I would say this: If we sit there and watch the Penn State game and say, 'Oh well, we just have to do what they did,' then we're in trouble, because Minnesota's a different team in the dome," Tressel said. "They have averaged 350-some yards a game in the dome the last couple years. When they're playing at home, there's an energy."