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Ohio State Football: Buckeyes simply have to take care of business

By Peter Burtnett

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Pat Fitzgerald of the Northwestern Wildcats and the team wait to take the field before the field against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Pat Fitzgerald of the Northwestern Wildcats and the team wait to take the field before the field against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Ohio State travels to Evanston to face Northwestern in a game that some considered a trap for the Buckeyes. Do the Wildcats have what it takes to pull off the upset?  

The last two seasons, a mid-October road game against a Big Ten West opponent has been horrendous for Ohio State. 2017 was a 55-24 defeat at Iowa, while 2018 was a 49-20 drubbing at Purdue. Can the Wildcats repeat recent history and shock the dominant Buckeyes?

In the preseason, I predicted Northwestern would win this game. The Wildcats haven’t exactly played how I expected they would, falling to a 1-4 record.

Albeit Northwestern has lost to Stanford, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska, but the Wildcats have struggled mightily, scoring only 42 total points in those four losses (the Buckeyes have scored 42+ in five of six games).

Because of this poor offensive output, there is little to say about the offense. At quarterback, it’s been a spinning door between Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson (367 passing yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs) and Aidan Smith (273 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs).

Jeffrey Okudah, Damon Arnette, Jordan Fuller and Shaun Wade (along with others) should have a field day if Northwestern decides to throw the ball.

The Wildcats have accounted for only 702 passing yards but do rely on the run. However, even with a two-headed attack of Drake Anderson (74 rushes, 366 yards and 3 TDs) and Isaiah Bowser (29 rushes for 103 yards, a far cry from last season’s 800+ yard season), they are only rushing for 152.4 yards per game.

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Northwestern’s offense has been practically non-existent and the offensive line has allowed 12 sacks through 5 games. If the Wildcats hope to win this game, they will have to slow the pace down and lean on their defense, which has also had trouble at times.

Led in tackles by Travis Whillock (44 total, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble), Northwestern has three linebackers (Chris Bergin, Paddy Fisher, and Blake Gallagher) who have yet to live up to the preseason hype. In the same order, they have 38, 37 and 33 tackles which are solid totals, but on a team with a poor offense the defense has to take it to the next level.

The Buckeye offensive line could face some trouble from Joe Gaziano and Alex Miller (3.5 and 2.5 sacks), but should be able to handle a team that has only 11 sacks (Ohio State has 28, Chase Young alone has 8.5).

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If Ohio State simply shows up and doesn’t fall victim to the big plays (Northwestern’s longest is a 50-yard pass from Hunter Johnson to J.J. Jefferson against UNLV, their only win, the Buckeyes should cruise to a road victory. Then the Wildcats will have a lot of work to do in the second half of the season to just make a bowl game.

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