MINNEAPOLIS — Michael Bennett seemed like he was still steaming a bit after the game.

During halftime of Ohio State's 31-24 win over Minnesota on Saturday, Bennett stood up and challenged his teammates, particularly the defensive line, to pick up their play and stop Golden Gophers running back David Cobb.

Cobb had 16 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, a big part of why the Buckeyes only led by three at halftime.

His longest run on Saturday was 30-yard touchdown on third-and-15 that made the score 14-14 in the second quarter.

Bennett had seen enough.

"I don't know what makes the rest of the guys mad, but watching the running back run up the middle of our defense (makes me mad)," Bennett said. "I let them know that I wasn't happy about it. I felt like there was a lot of apathy. We only let them get 14 points. I felt like we shouldn't have let them get any.

"It was mostly just a call to action. We can't be OK with that. We can let them run up the ball. We're better than that. We need to form a wall, not let that running back through. I don't know many times in the second half that they did."

The second half was better. Cobb gained 49 yards on 11 carries, finishing with 145 yards and three touchdowns.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Bennett (63) and teammate Joey Bosa (97) combine to tackle Minnesota Golden Gophers running back David Cobb (27) for a loss in the second quarter on Saturday.

But was this frustration carrying over from Ohio State's win over Michigan State last week? As good as that win was for the Buckeyes, Spartans running back Jeremy Langford finished with 137 rushing yards and three touchdowns, gashing the Ohio State defense to the tune of 7.6 yards per carry.

Bennett has reason to be concerned. Last week Ohio State hit a stretch in its schedule that has the Buckeyes going against some of the best running backs in the country.

Where did Cobb rank?

"Probably the best running back we've faced yet," Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa said.

That's probably not good news for the Buckeyes. Here's what's coming down the pipeline:

• Indiana running back Tevin Coleman came into this week ranked No. 2 in the nation with 152.3 yards per game. The junior had 307 yards on 32 carries on Saturday in a loss to Rutgers.

• Wisconsin looks like it's going to be Ohio State's opponent in the Big Ten championship game. Badgers running back Melvin Gordon just happened to turn in the best performance for a running back in FBS history on Saturday, rushing for a record 408 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries against Nebraska — in just three quarters. That's 16.3 yards per carry against a top 20 rush defense, one ranked ahead of Ohio State coming into Saturday. Gordon leads the nation in rushing and is now 91 yards away from 2,000 for the season.

• The other potential opposing running backs for the conference championship would be Cobb again, or Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, who came into Saturday No. 5 in the nation in rushing.

Ohio State won the last two weeks despite allowing big rushers. If that's not cause for concern yet, it should be.

It was for Bennett on Saturday.

"On the D-line, in general, I didn't like the look in guys' faces," Bennett said. "I play off a lot of anger and just a lot of trying to be intense and with adrenaline. I just didn't see that coming from the rest of the defense."