Ohio State kept its unbeaten record intact with Saturday’s 30-14 victory over Minnesota. That’s the good news for Scarlet and Gray fans.

The bad news is a disturbing development became apparent, and it is sure to derail the Buckeyes’ season if it persists.

In a nutshell: Were the offensive and defensive line issues against the Golden Gophers a blip, or do they indicate a bigger problem?

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck is committed to building his team from the inside out on both offense and defense, meaning he wants his guys to be big and mean on both lines. The Golden Gophers are not where they want to be on that count but if Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium is an indication, Fleck’s vision is starting to come into focus.

The Buckeyes were stuffed on fourth and 1 early in the second quarter as Minnesota linebacker Blake Cashman crashed the line.

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Starting right tackle Isaiah Prince had a rough day as Minnesota’s speed rush gave him fits. The senior committed three penalties and two were for false starts, which should never happen at home.

Minnesota had three sacks and nine tackles for loss and held Ohio State’s star running back tandem of J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber in check. Weber rushed for 51 yards, Dobbins for a career-low 35.

As a trend, the Buckeyes’ average yards per carry has declined in every game this season, from a robust 7.3 ypc against Oregon State in the opener to just 2.9 against Minnesota. The emergence — frankly, the star turn — of Dwayne Haskins has masked some growing offensive deficiencies, including the line.

Ohio State’s defensive line didn’t fare much better Saturday.

The Golden Gophers outrushed the Buckeyes 178-92 as sophomore running back Mohamed Ibrahim had a career day — 158 rushing yards on 23 attempts. He had already surpassed his career high of 101 yards by the third quarter.

Minnesota is huge up front, especially 6-foot-8, 400-pound true freshman Daniel Faalele at right tackle. The five starters against OSU average 6-6, 327 and they gave the Buckeyes fits.

Ohio State’s defensive struggles in general this season are well-chronicled. The Buckeyes were fortunate that, in Minnesota’s Zack Annexstad, they were facing a true freshman quarterback who is still trying to polish his game. He was 13-for-23 for 213 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Had the Golden Gophers been as efficient through the air as they were on the ground, the Buckeyes might be staring at a 6-1 record and the dissolution of their College Football Playoff dreams.

OSU has allowed at least 390 yards of offense in five of their seven games. The team misses the injured Nick Bosa and played Saturday without defensive lineman Jonathon Cooper (concussion symptoms) so depth is becoming a factor. The Buckeyes entered Saturday second in the country with 22 sacks but had just two against Minnesota, the first coming deep into the third quarter.

So, back to the original question: Is Ohio State in trouble up front?

The answer seems to be yes. And that raises a whole batch of new questions as the Big Ten conference part of the schedule looms.