MY THOUGHTS.....Northwestern

The Buckeyes, dealing with hellish weather conditions, played their worst game of the year, but managed a 21-7 victory over a game 1-8 Northwestern squad.

With sustained 30 mph winds and gusts twice as much, combined with intermittent downpours, Ohio State’s passing game was reduced to rubble, while the inconsistent ground game started to get a push only in the fourth quarter, with Northwestern’s defense already worn down.  But the Buckeyes scored on just one of their seven first half possessions and were stuffed on a fourth-and-short as they averaged a paltry 3.6 yards per play.  About the only good thing to see was C.J. Stroud finally showed some running ability.  In fact, he actually ran for more yards than he passed.  A big third-down run in the fourth quarter led to the final touchdown and he picked up the first down on a fourth down play.  Miyan Williams finally got going in the fourth quarter, gaining most of his 111 yards in that quarter and scored twice, while Emeka Egbuka was used in the running game as well, and scored the first touchdown on a 15-yard run.  Marvin Harrison Jr. was still “Mr. Reliable” as Stroud looked for him often.  He led the way with five receptions for 51 yards on a day where it was hard to predict where a thrown ball would end up.

Although Northwestern managed 206 yards on the ground, the Ohio State defense held them to the one touchdown on their second drive of the game and stopped the Wildcats on all four of their fourth-down attempts.  Once again, Tommy Eichenberg led the way with a game-high 13 tackles with one for loss.  Taron Vincent played perhaps his best game on the defensive line, making two tackles for loss on Northwestern’s opening drive of the second half and getting the fourth-down stop as well.  That turnover on downs gave Ohio State the ball at the Northwestern 45-yard line and the Buckeyes scored five plays later to take the lead for good.  One thing I found remarkable was, despite the horrific weather conditions, there was not a single turnover by either side and a total of only seven penalties between the two teams.

But it’s hard to be excited about this game.  Sure, the weather conditions were horrible, but they were no excuse for failing to get a push in the running game for the first three quarters.  This led to the defense having to win the game, and except for the one Northwestern drive in the first quarter, they proved to be tough, even though Northwestern had a big advantage in possession time (36 minutes to a mere 24 for the Buckeyes).  It is clear, with the rivalry game in just three weeks, there is work to done.