Game 8: OHIO STATE v NORTHWESTERN

GAME 6       OHIO STATE V NORTHWESTERN

October 29, 2016                                Ohio Stadium              Columbus, OH

Northwestern Wildcats

Location: Evanston, IL

Stadium: Ryan Field (47,130)

Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (11^th year): 74-59 at Northwestern/overall, 39-45 v B1G, 0-4 v OSU

Series: OSU 60, Northwestern 14, 1 tie

Last Meeting: 10/5/2013: OSU 40, Northwestern 30

Last Northwestern win: 10/2/2004: Northwestern 33, OSU 27 (OT)

Coach Meyer (5^th year): 56-5 at OSU/160-28 overall, 35-4 v B1G, 2-0 v Northwestern

2015 Northwestern Wildcats (10-3)(6-2)                 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1)(7-1)

16        Stanford                        6                                42        at Virginia Tech          24

41        Eastern Illinois                0                                38        Hawaii                        0                      19        at Duke                        10                                20        Northern Illinois          13

24        Ball State                     19                                38        Western Michigan       12

27        Minnesota                     0                                34        at Indiana                     27

  0        at Michigan                 38                                49        Maryland                     28

10        Iowa                            40                                38        Penn State                   10

30        at Nebraska                 28                                49        at Rutgers                     7

23        Penn State                   21                                28        Minnesota                   14

21        Purdue                         14                                28        at Illinois                       3

13        at Wisconsin                  7                                14        Michigan State            17

24        Illinois                          14                                42        at Michigan                 13

  6        Tennessee                   45                                44        Notre Dame                28

            (Outback Bowl)                                                           (Fiesta Bowl)

2016 Northwestern Wildcats (4-3)(3-1)                   2016 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1)(3-1)

21        Western Michigan      22                                77        Bowling Green                        10

  7        Illinois State                  9                               48        Tulsa                                        3

24        Duke                           13                              45        at Oklahoma                          24

13        Nebraska                    24

38        at Iowa                       31                                58        Rutgers                                   0

O8                                                                             38        Indiana                                  17

54        Michigan State            40                                30        at Wisconsin                          23 (OT)

24        Indiana                        14                                21        at Penn State                        24

O29     at Ohio State                                                               Northwestern

N5        Wisconsin                                                                    Nebraska

N12      at Purdue                                                                    at Maryland

N19      at Minnesota                                                               at Michigan State

N26      Illinois                                                                          Michigan

Northwestern enters Saturday’s contest at Ohio State on a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Iowa, Michigan State, and Indiana.  Over that three-game span, the Wildcats are averaging 420 yards of total offense with a balanced attack of 243 yards passing and 176 yards on the ground.

Northwestern Offense v Ohio State Defense: Sophomore quarterback Clayton Thorson comes in on a hot streak and has picked up Coach Fitzgerald’s offensive scheme quite nicely as the season progressed.  He has completed 69-of-108 attempts for 730 yards and nine touchdowns against only one interception.  A good reason for Thorson’s success has been the continued excellence of senior WR Austin Carr, who leads the B1G in receptions (50), yards (720), receiving yards per game (102.9), and TD catches (9).    Carr hauled in seven catches for 125 yards and a score in their win over Indiana, becoming the first player in program history to catch a touchdown pass in six straight games.  Sophomore Flynn Nagel and junior Solomon Vault has shown to be capable receivers in the ‘Cats passing attack.  Vault is second on the team with 22 receptions for 252 yards and a score, while Vault has caught 12 for 127 yards and two touchdowns.  Also showing his capable hands this year has been junior Garrett Dickerson, who can line up as a fullback or split out in the slot.  Dickerson has 11 catches for 109 yards and a score.  The Northwestern running game is in the hands of junior Justin Jackson.  Despite his small size (under 200 pounds), Jackson has shown the ability to get touch yards through the line as well as outside with 792 yards and six touchdowns.  The offensive line is a mixture of experience and newcomers, led by senior RT Eric Olson and junior center Brad North, who have started since they were freshmen.  They lead the way for sophomores Blake Hance, LG J.B. Butler, and RG Tommy Doles, who have shown marked improvement over the last three games. 

Ohio State’s defense will look to continue the way they played against Penn State in the second half when they limited the Lions to less than 100 yards.  The Wildcats do not have much depth or experience behind Carr and Jackson, but have shown to be an opportunistic bunch, cashing in on opponent’s turnovers and they rang up 54 on Michigan State.  Ohio State should be able to get pressure on Thorson, so the key is for OSU’s defensive line and linebackers to plug up the running lanes and prevent Jackson from getting to the second level of the defense.

                                             RB Justin Jackson

Northwestern Defense v Ohio State Offense: Northwestern’s defense has limited their opponents to just 214 yards rushing over their last three games, good for a mere 71.7 yards per game.  The defensive line is led by a pair of senior bookends.  Ifeadi Odenigo leads this group in tackles with 19.  This includes an impressive nine tackles for loss and eight sacks already this year, while Robbins comes in with 16 stops, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a sack.  Junior Tyler Lancaster and Sophomore Jordan Thompson have been there all season.  Lancaster has 11 stops and a TFL, while Thompson has contributed eight tackles.  The linebackers are led by senior Jaylen Prater, second on the team with 58 tackles to go along with his two tackles for loss and has his best game in the opener with 18 stops against Western Michigan.  Junior MLB Anthony Walker is just behind Prater in tackles with 51 and has done it all on the defensive side of the ball, also chipping in 5.5 TFL, two sacks, and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore Nate Hall has adjusted well as a starter, with 30 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.  The Northwestern secondary features players who miss very few tackles and can come up on run support, led by junior SS Igwebuike Godwin, leading the team in tackles with 61 to go along with four tackles for loss and an interception.  Sophomore CB Montre Hartage has also been active in that secondary with 38 stops and two interceptions.  True freshman Trae Williams has earned the start at the other corner position and has played well with 20 tackles and an interception, while junior FS Kyle Quiero has stepped up his game with 25 tackles, and an interception.

Northwestern’s defense figures to have its hands full dealing with Ohio State’s ground game, which still leads the conference and is 8^th nationally, averaging 281.6 yards per game.  While decent against the run, giving up 132 yards per game, the ‘Cats are last in the league in pass defense, giving up over 280 yards per game and giving up over 414 yards per game overall.  So, this could be the “get well” game the Ohio State passing offense needs.

                                                DT Tyler Lancaster

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Jakc Mitchell has hit on 4 of his 7 field goal attempts with a long of 40, while junior Hunter Niswander is averaging 43 yards per punt.

SUMMARY: Coach Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats have recovered nicely after losing two of their first three games.  Racking up 54 points against Michigan State on their home field is a noteworthy achievement.  Unfortunately for them, they run into an Ohio State team that has come back down to earth after the rude awakening last week and will be looking to redeem themselves.  The Northwestern offense will have to be creative in using Jackson and Carr and hope Thorson plays a mistake-free game.  The Ohio State offense should be able to get some deep throws against this pass defense as hopefully, the coaching staff has made some adjustments in the downfield passing game.  If they have, there’s no way Northwestern stops Ohio State’s offense, especially in the ‘Shoe.

                                    OHIO STATE 45, NORTHWESTERN 17