COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On a Saturday when the teams ranked No. 2, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 lost, and No. 5 trailed for 55 minutes, a 16-point win by No. 3 Ohio State can look more like gritty survival and less like worrisome sluggishness.

Or not.

Because what Minnesota showed in Ohio Stadium in week seven in a 30-14 win by Ohio State may have been the closest thing yet to a gameplan to beat the Buckeyes.

TCU ran super-quick tempo in week three, but for most teams that's unsustainable.

Penn State attempted to take away the deep passing game in week five, but much of what the Nittany Lions did was predicated on rattling the Buckeyes in a hostile environment, and Ohio State won't play in a rocking road stadium like that again.

But Minnesota had a plan, on both sides of the ball, just like Iowa did a year ago. With a walkon freshman quarterback, key injuries at running back and in the secondary, and one of the youngest teams in the country, the Golden Gophers (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) weren't a team that could do more than scare Ohio State.

But Minnesota led twice early, was within a touchdown entering the fourth quarter and did all that while missing two field goals, losing the turnover battle 3-0 and suffering from an iffy fourth-down spot that led directly to an Ohio State touchdown.

Here are the two primary things the Gophers did to make that happen.

In Purdue (3-3, 2-1), Michigan State (4-2, 2-1), Maryland (4-2, 2-1) and Michigan (6-1, 4-0), four of the five teams left on the OSU schedule have a better chance than Minnesota to turn a plan into a win.

1. CATCH THE OHIO STATE LINEBACKERS IN NO MAN'S LAND

Minnesota is an RPO team, and the Golden Gophers used that to great effect all day, slicing Ohio State up in the middle of the field and forcing the linebackers to feel like there were wrong no matter what they did.

Minnesota hit slant after slant, the Gophers throwing for 218 yards and putting together four drives of at least 58 yards.

"We knew the looks we were going to be able to get," Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. "They played the exact looks we want to be able to get, and we took advantage of that."

All those inside throws were RPOs, or run-pass options. The Gophers go to the line with two options on a play, and decide whether to hand off or execute a quick pass based on how the defenders, often the linebackers, react.

With Ohio State's linebackers typically playing close to the line of scrimmage, and the OSU secondary playing man defense, Minnesota threw to open windows inside with no defender in a passing lane. When Ohio State's linebackers stayed back, they ran.

"It's tough," linebacker Pete Werner said. "What we did was how we're supposed to play it, although we don't want them to catch the ball, and that defender is supposed to stop them. It's hard, because the linebacker is supposed to adjust. If (the quarterback) sees me run in, he's obviously not going to hand the ball off, he's going to pass it. But if I stay back, they're going to run the ball and I'm too late."

Werner knows the Buckeyes got beat more on the slant than the run Saturday, and by the second half, the plan had Werner trying to hang in passing lanes a little more.

"It's just the alignment and trying to get in the throwing lanes of the quarterback as best as possible," Werner said.

This whole discussion is why RPOs are so popular. But Ohio State may be particularly open to RPOs right now for two reasons.

1. They're often playing their linebackers close to the line of scrimmage to help an injured and tired defensive line.

2. They play man coverage in the secondary, and the corners are getting beat at times in this risky plan.

So while RPOs are the bane of every defense's existence, it's really a smart way to put strain on the Buckeyes.

"In the RPO game, every guy you commit to the run is one less guy you commit to the pass," co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. "It is a chess match. What does that mean? It means you've got to make sure you're gap sound, so to take a linebacker out of it to play coverage, you leave yourself susceptible that way. It's a back and forth. So you mix things, you mix coverages to get a more advantageous situation for the DB and then you have to make that play."

Grinch said when you don't make that play early, you give opponents the confidence to try it all day.

So Minnesota did with the slant and moved the ball effectively. As usual, the OSU defense was better in the second half. Linebacker Justin Hilliard did get his hand on a third-down slant call in the red zone that may have saved a touchdown with Ohio State up only 20-14.

But teams will try this again. Grinch, however, may have an answer to that.

"Very few times do you say the slant loses you a football game," Grinch said. "But on the same token, it's frustrating and it leads to drives and it can lead to points, so it's never OK either. It's something where we've got to continue to mix up coverages and put pressure on quarterbacks and coordinators."

He's right. The slant didn't lose the Buckeyes the game. They only gave up 14 points, despite all the times it felt like Ohio State was helpless to stop Minnesota. And the Buckeyes didn't give up the deep ball, and instead made two interceptions on long throws.

But if a team like Purdue, for instance, is even more effective in the RPO plan? Ohio State could have something to worry about.

2. LET DWAYNE HASKINS GO OFF

When will opposing defenses stop Dwayne Haskins? Maybe never, because maybe that's not the way to beat Ohio State.

The Ohio State quarterback ranks fourth in college football, throwing for 333 yards per game. But Ohio State ranks 52nd in rushing yards per game, averaging 185 yards per game.

Minnesota was somewhat forced into its plan Saturday by injuries to two starters in the secondary and a lack of depth there. The Gophers didn't have the horses to stop Haskins. They sold out on the run, concentrated on making Ohio State one-dimensional, allowed 412 passing yards but only 92 rushing yards, and were happy to hold the Buckeyes to 23 points through the first 58 minutes.

So maybe future opponents don't have to stop Haskins. They just have to stop an OSU run game, stand tall in the red zone and hope Haskins throwing the ball all over the field doesn't lead to a ton of points.

"He's probably the front runner for the Heisman Trophy, one of the best quarterbacks if not the best quarterback in the country," Fleck said of Haskins. "Ryan Day has done an outstanding job developing that young man. He's a tremendous coordinator, a tremendous play caller and you could see when he was the head coach what they were doing with him. He's outstanding.

"In our conference, you've got to stop the run. If you don't stop the run, it's going to be over before it starts."

Haskins, through seven games, has been enough of an answer, and more. But against another great defense down the road?

Maybe the idea is let Haskins operate between the 20s, but know the OSU run game won't hurt you, and know the Buckeyes inside the 20 aren't quite the same offense. The Buckeyes have scored touchdowns on 21 of 32 trips to the red zone, and that 65.6 percent TD rate ranks 61st in the country.

The Buckeyes didn't score a touchdown on three red zone trips Saturday, with two field goals and failed run on fourth-and-1.

So Ohio State hasn't lost. The Buckeyes join Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and North Carolina among the last five power conference unbeatens.

That's quite something.

Saturday, Minnesota showed some things that might make holding onto that perfect record more difficult.