Through rainy and windy conditions No. 2 Ohio State (9-0) defeated Northwestern (1-8) Saturday to remain undefeated on the year. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 2 Ohio State football team played Northwestern Saturday in suboptimal weather conditions and came out with a 21-7 win.
Third-year running back Miyan Williams rushed for two touchdowns, which was enough for the win despite Northwestern doing everything possible to keep the ball out of Ohio State’s hands.
Ohio State broke a Football Bowl Subdivision record by scoring more than 20 points in its 70th-straight game, despite possessing the football for 13 minutes less than Northwestern. After a chaotic weekend that saw three top-10 teams lose, the second College Football Playoff rankings should give Buckeyes fans some breathing room after surviving the road trip to Evanston, Illinois.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Ground game carries the load once more
With second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson listed as unavailable versus the Wildcats, the Buckeyes relied on Williams and third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud to make up for his absence.
The wind steadily blew at 20 miles per hour throughout the game, with gusts reaching up to 47 mph at some points. Williams only rushed for 21 yards on his first 12 carries of the game, but ended the day with 111 yards and two scores on 26 carries.
His 2-yard score with 4:24 left put the game out of reach for Northwestern, which averages only 16.7 points per game.
Stroud, on the other hand, rushed for a career-high 79 yards on six carries, despite throwing for a new career-low 76 yards through the wind gusts. Stroud’s biggest run came in the fourth quarter on a read-option in which he ran 44 yards to the Wildcats’ 5-yard line.
Despite half the offensive playbook rendered essentially useless Saturday, the Buckeyes’ offense found another way to grind out a victory in a “classic” Big Ten matchup.
The Buckeyes played their ugliest game of the year
Conditions aside, the Ohio State offense looked the worst it has all season. Despite neither team forcing a turnover, the Buckeyes were held to 13 total first downs and converted only four third downs in 15 attempts.
Second-year wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. was responsible for 51 of Ohio State’s 76 yards through the air. The passing game was limited all afternoon, with Stroud averaging 2.9 yards per attempt.
Ohio State entered the matchup with Northwestern, averaging 48.9 points per game and hadn’t scored fewer than 44 in a Big Ten matchup before Saturday. Despite the conditions preventing Stroud from comfortably throwing the ball, Northwestern physically matched up in the run game and on defense throughout.
After trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Ohio State responded with a touchdown in each of the subsequent three quarters. It wasn’t pretty, but the Buckeyes got the job done Saturday despite the box score indicating otherwise.
Ohio State still breaks records despite sputtering
Ohio State scored at least 20 points for the 70th-consecutive game. The Buckeyes broke a tie with Oklahoma, despite the offense only amassing 283 total yards of offense, a new season low.
Even though the Buckeyes uncharacteristically floundered on offense, the team still ranks first in the FBS in points per game. Williams’ 12 rushing touchdowns tie for 11th in the country in rushing touchdowns, while Harrison ranks third in the country with 10 touchdowns and 13th with 834 yards.
Despite miscues on offense through a combination of bad weather, a stout Northwestern defense and a lack of an air game, Ohio State’s offense still ranks highly in the country. In better conditions, fans should expect Ohio State to return to its high-scoring ways Nov. 12 against Indiana.
Defense bends but doesn’t break
The unique conditions at Ryan Field Saturday presented a test on all sides of the ball, as one miscue could ultimately decide the outcome. Ohio State’s defense withstood multiple Northwestern scoring attempts after the first quarter, implementing a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy.
Northwestern held onto the ball for 36:26 Saturday, the highest time of possession an opponent has put up against the Buckeyes this season. The Wildcats converted nine out of 20 third-down attempts, doubling the efforts by Ohio State.
Fourth-years linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and safety Ronnie Hickman combined for 23 tackles with 13 and 10, respectively. Second-year defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau followed his historic performance against then-No. 13 Penn State with four tackles and a pass deflection.
The Wildcats saw production on the ground from third-year running back Evan Hull, who ran for 122 yards and scored Northwestern’s only touchdown. Although the Wildcats ran for a combined 206 yards on the Buckeyes’ defense, they averaged merely 3.5 yards per attempt.
Ohio State’s defense was tested in more ways than one against Northwestern. However, Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles, as he’s shown all season, made the correct adjustments on the defensive side to prevent Northwestern from staying in the game.
All eyes on Nov. 26
After the series of losses by three top-10 teams, the stars are aligning for the biggest game of the college football season Nov. 26 in Columbus. No. 5 Michigan took care of business against Rutgers 52-17 and looks to be on the way to an 11-0 record when it visits Ohio Stadium to face the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s Week 1 win over then-No. 5 Notre Dame looks much better after the latter upset No. 4 Clemson at home 35-14 over the weekend. Alongside Clemson, No. 1 Tennessee fell to No. 3 Georgia in Athens 27-13 and No. 6 Alabama fell to No. 10 LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The unpredictability of this college football season shows there are no guarantees after Saturday, and both Ohio State and Michigan know they need to focus one week at a time.
Yet, with the constant shift of the rankings, only four unbeaten teams remain in the FBS: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and No. 7 TCU. If the Buckeyes and Wolverines enter rivalry week with identical unblemished records, expect Ohio Stadium to feel like a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere.
