Ohio State third-year running back Miyan Williams shouldered the load on Saturday with second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson missing No. 2 No. 2 Ohio State’s (9-0) 21-7 win over Northwestern (1-8). Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
With a little over a minute to go in the first quarter, No. 2 Ohio State trailed Northwestern 7-0 and faced a third-and-1 on its own 40-yard line.
The next two plays, third-year running back Miyan Williams ran for no gain and the Buckeyes turned it over on downs — a drive indicative of their early-game rushing struggles.
Williams finished with 111 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, as his second-half performance played a major role in Ohio State’s 21-7 win and escape of Northwestern’s upset attempt Saturday.
Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud said the run-pass option play calling the Buckeyes implored Saturday allowed for Williams to have success.
“It’s more numbers in the box, which is tough to just run your back and run your back, run your back, run your back,” Stroud said. “But if he’s going to equate those numbers and somehow try to get the RPO game going or try to run your quarterback — which I felt like we did today — then it can open up Miyan to have bigger runs.”
The weather in Evanston, Illinois, was less than desirable to say the least.
With sustained winds over 20 mph with gusts topping out at 47 mph coupled with periods of rain, the Buckeyes’ game plan revolved heavily around running the ball, as head coach Ryan Day said it was “like throwing a knuckleball” into the wind.
Through Williams’ first 12 carries, the third-year running back had just 21 yards and four plays of zero or negative yards — two of which came on third-and-1 and one on fourth-and-1.
Day said “there’s no excuse” for not converting the short-yard situations, but the Northwestern defense could put more defenders in the box because there was “no threat of any kind of pass at all.”
The tide for Williams’ day started to shift with a 7-yard dive forward to set up a third and short — Ohio State’s kryptonite through the first 35 minutes of play.
However, this time around the Cincinnati native slipped between the tackles before bouncing it outside for a 27-yard score, capping it off with a snow angel on the rain-soaked hill at Ryan Field.
Williams sent Wildcats fans for the exits with his second score of the game, as his 2-yard plunge with 4:24 to go in the fourth quarter put the game on ice. His two-touchdown performance broke the tie with second-year wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., now holding the team lead with 12 this season.
Day said despite the early-game struggles, he wanted to stay persistent with Williams in the running game, as opposed to backup options in first-year Dallan Hayden or third-year Chip Trayanum.
“We felt like Miyan was running good, you know, and there was just a lot of guys down in the box,” Day said. “We felt like with more and more at-bats that he’d start to break them there the more opportunities he had, and that’s part of the run game.”
With second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson unavailable due to an injury, Ohio State relied on some unlikely contributors to aid in the ground game.
Stroud rushed for a career-high 77 yards, including a game-sealing 44-yard run to set up Williams’ second score, and second-year wide receiver Emeka Egbuka got the Buckeyes on the board with a 15-yard touchdown run in the first half.
Williams’ third game over the century mark this season contributed the majority of an Ohio State 207-yard rushing day after back-to-back weeks of 66 and 98 yards against Iowa and Penn State, respectively.
“I mean it just felt great to put some points on the board,” Williams said. “We expected to put way more points on the board, but tough game. I’m just glad we came out with the win.”
