College Football

No. 4 Ohio State vs. Minnesota: Top plays from college football Week 1

Updated Sep. 3, 2021 2:19 a.m. ET

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College football Week 1 is officially here and it's getting started with high-caliber teams taking the field.

Four games featuring ranked teams were on Thursday night's schedule, with the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes taking on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on FOX as the marquee game on the docket.

And the game lived up to the hype, with the Buckeyes winning 45-31 in a high-scoring affair.

Here are the top moments from Week 1.

No. 4 Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31

It's a new era in Columbus, and C.J. Stroud is ready to take the reigns as the leader of the Buckeyes.

Stroud's teammates also sang his praises before his first career start.

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All eyes were on Stroud early on, but it was running back Miyan Williams who stole the show on the Buckeyes' first drive, scoring on a 71-yard rushing touchdown.

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After Ohio State scored the first 10 points of the game, the Golden Gophers responded with an impressive drive of their own.

First, running back Mohamed Ibrahim covered a fourth-down conversion with a 56-yard run to set up a passing touchdown from Tanner Morgan to Dylan Wright.

The offensive momentum carried over to the Golden Gopher's defense, with them intercepting Stroud on the very next Buckeyes' possession.

And they would capitalize off the turnover, scoring on an Ibrahim rushing touchdown to take a 14-10 lead.

Stroud had an uneven first half but opened the second half rejuvenated and composed to lead an Ohio State scoring drive and end a 14-0 run for the Golden Gophers.

He connected with All-American wide receiver Chris Olave for a 38-yard touchdown pass.

But as they did in the first half, the Golden Gophers responded on the back of Ibrahim Mohamed, who scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to give Minnesota a 21-17 lead.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the third quarter, with the Buckeyes getting their chance to respond to the Golden Gophers' latest punch.

And Stroud was able to put the ball on a rope to Garrett Wilson for a 56-yard touchdown bomb to put Ohio State back in front.

That led to Ohio State's defense finally making a big play and getting a much-needed stop, getting a strip-sack that led to a touchdown return to push the lead to 31-21.

Ohio State blew the game open early in the fourth quarter on a 70-yard touchdown run from TreVeyon Henderson to extend their lead to 14 points.

Minnesota would not lay down easily though, with them cutting the Buckeyes' lead in half on a rushing touchdown from Bryce Williams.

But the Buckeyes turned to Mr. Reliable, Olave, to get their lead back to double-digits.

The touchdown was Olave's second of the game and gave him 117 yards for the night to that point.

That proved to be enough for Ohio State to come out victorious in Week 1, winning 45-31.

No. 24 Utah 40, Weber State 17

This game was delayed in the first quarter due to safety because of lightning in the area, and Utah trailed 7-3 at that point.

When play resumed, the Utes wasted little time taking the lead.

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In the third quarter, the Utes were able to take full control of the game and push their lead to 26-10.

From there, Utah would cruise to victory.

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No. 22 Coastal Carolina 52, The Citadel 14

Coastal Carolina struck early in the first quarter, drawing first blood with a touchdown from Shermari Jones.

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From that moment on, it was a rout for Coastal Carolina in the first half.

The Chanticleers accumulated 383 total yards of offense in the first half to build a 31-0 halftime lead.

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This was the foundation laid for a Coastal Carolina blowout, winning their opener 52-14.

No. 25 Arizona State 41, Southern Utah 14

The Sun Devils ran out to a 28-7 halftime lead, as DeaMonte Trayanum and Rachaad White each scored a pair of touchdowns.

The Devils continued to dominate in the run game in the second half as they stretched out their lead.

Arizona State outgained their opponents 234-73 on the ground on the way to an easy victory.

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College Football

Ohio State Buckeyes

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Utah Utes

Weber State Wildcats

Arizona State Sun Devils

Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Citadel Bulldogs

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Shermari Jones

Miyan Williams

C.J. Stroud

Chris Olave

Mohamed Ibrahim

Garrett Wilson

TreVeyon Henderson