The 3-5 Minnesota Golden Gophers with coach Glen Mason traveled to Columbus to meet the top-ranked, 8-0 Ohio State Buckeyes of coach Jim Tressel.  On a windy afternoon with gusts over 40 m.p.h., Ohio State turned to its punishing rushing attack sprinkled with just enough short passes to keep the Golden Gophers off-balance.  The Buckeyes amassed 266 yards rushing led by RB Antonio Pittman's 116 yards with 2 touchdowns as Ohio State rolled to a 44-0 rout of Minnesota.  The Buckeyes started quickly as All-Big Ten WR Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the opening kick-off 35 yards to the Ohio State 43-yard line.  Pittman then rushed for 37 of the 57 yards on the drive scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run.  Ohio State's PK Aaron Pettrey kicked a 42-yard field goal on the Buckeyes next drive to give Ohio State a 10-0 lead.  An apparent crack in the Buckeyes offense appeared in the 2^nd quarter as both RB Chris Wells & Heisman Trophy winning, All-American QB Troy Smith fumbled with the Golden Gophers recovering both times.  The amazing stat for the Buckeyes defense continued as they have not allowed a point off a Buckeyes' turnover to date.  Late in the quarter, Ohio State drove 71 yards in 10 plays with Smith throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to WR Brian Robiskie for a 17-0 halftime lead.  Any hopes of a rally for the Golden Gophers ended quickly in the 3^rd quarter as Ohio State's All-Big Ten CB Antonio Smith intercepted Minnesota's QB Bryan Cupito on the third play of the half giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Minnesota 23-yard line.  On Ohio State's third snap of the half, Smith scrambled through the Golden Gophers defense, dodged a linebacker, & scored on a 21-yard run for a 24-0 Buckeye lead.  Ohio State's CB Jamario O'Neal intercepted Cupito on the next Minnesota drive & the Buckeyes drove 41 yards with Pittman scoring the touchdown on a 13-yard run.  The blocked extra-point attempt still gave Ohio State a 30-0 lead as the 3^rd quarter ended.  Wells' 3-yard touchdown run & a 1-yard quarterback sneak by back-up QB Justin Zwick finished the Buckeyes scoring.  The sole highlight for the Golden Gophers was a crushing hit by Minnesota's CB Dominic Jones against Ohio State's WR Ray Small.  Small held on for a 3 yard loss but was knocked out of the game from the violent collision.  Troy Smith finished with 183 yards passing with a touchdown while Cupito threw for 120 yards but was intercepted 3 times.  Minnesota played without All-American, Mackey Award winning TE Matt Spaeth out due to injury while Ohio State's defense held Minnesota to 47 yards rushing & 182 total yards in the rout.  The Golden Gophers finished the season 6-7 while the Buckeyes finished 12-1, Big Ten Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally.  Minnesota has not played for The Belt again.