For the rest of the regular season, the Ohio State football team is going to be favored in the games that they play. The Buckeyes are massive favorites this week against Northwestern. It's the second straight week that they are big favorites after they entered last week as big favorites over Purdue.
The Buckeyes covered that massive spread by shutting out the Boilermakers 45-0. Nothing could slow them down in that game. It was a great performance both offensively and defensively for the Ohio State Buckeyes coming off an emotional win. Now, they play another bad team.
On paper, there's nothing that can slow down the Buckeyes against the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. They are much better at every position than Northwestern is. However, there is one thing that can still slow down Ohio State and keep the Wildcats in this game.
The weather can be the great equalizer in the Ohio State football vs. Northwestern game
The one thing that can slow down Ohio State is the weather. They will be playing this game at Wrigley Field. Remember the last time Ohio State played at Northwestern? The wind made it almost impossible to throw the ball and C.J. Stroud's legs had to save the Buckeyes from an upset back in 2022.
Ohio State won that game 21-7 and didn't pull away until late. Being not as close to the shore of Lake Michigan will help keep the wind a little lighter, but the weather could still keep the Cats in it. According to the Weather Channel, the Buckeyes will get luckier this time around.
It will be 58 and partly cloudy with no precipitation. That should help Ohio State's offense be able to function properly. There will be a bit of wind, as it will be sustained at 12 mph, but gusts won't be too terrible. That means they should be able to throw it a lot easier than they did the last time they faced them.
Ohio State should be able to execute at their normal high level. They just have to stay mentally focused and not look ahead to next week.