CHICAGO — No. 2 Ohio State took care of business at Wrigley Field, defeating Northwestern 31-7, improving to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten.
Northwestern kept things tight early, leading the Buckeyes 7-0 in the second quarter, but Ohio State gained control soon after and never trailed again.
Ohio State is now set for its third top-five matchup of the season, this time against No. 5 Indiana at noon ET next Saturday. Ohio State is the third team ever to play in three top-five regular-season matchups, which only adds to Ohio State’s resume.
A win against Indiana will put Ohio State in the driver’s seat for its first Big Ten title appearance since 2020. Before we get there, though, let’s look more closely at Ohio State’s win at Northwestern.
The secondary better figure things out
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke can sling it. Northwestern came into Saturday’s game averaging just 176 passing yards per game. With Northwestern’s lack of playmakers on the outside, Ohio State should’ve been able to hold up in man coverage and ideally dominate the Wildcats. Instead, Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch threw for 201 yards, with much of his work coming in the first half when he threw for 105 yards and corner Denzel Burke got picked on, again.
Burke gave up a 21-yard sideline pass and a few plays later gave up a third-and-10 pass for 12 yards before being taken out of the game for the rest of that drive.
Ohio State put him back in and he played well the rest of the game, but this secondary isn’t nearly as good as many thought it would be.
Ohio State can’t take the field next week against Indiana and hope to play man coverage and have success.
This year, Indiana has had plenty of success throwing the ball deep. Rourke is fourth nationally in passer rating on throws beyond 15 yards, completing 39 of 67 passes for 1,060 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions, per TruMedia. As a team, Indiana is ninth in explosive pass rate, completing 21.5 percent of its passes beyond 16 yards.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has done a good job since the Oregon game of mixing up coverages and not leaving his players on islands. It seemed like he thought the corners would win one-on-one on Saturday, but that wasn’t the case, and he adjusted. His game plan will have to look different to start the game next week, too.
And to be fair to the defense, the first-half touchdown it allowed to Northwestern was just the second it has allowed since its loss to Oregon on Oct. 12.
Will Howard looking as confident as ever
This might’ve been Howard’s best game as a thrower.
The stats aren’t going to tell the entire story — he completed 15 of 24 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He’s had games like that before, and his Oregon game was a better statistical performance. But the praise for Howard comes with his ability to throw at every level on Saturday. He’s been extremely accurate this season, with a 74 percent completion rate, but most of that has been on short-to-medium throws.
On Saturday, he made some nice throws downfield. He had a 34-yard pass to tight end Gee Scott that was put in the perfect spot, with a defender draped all over Scott down the middle of the field.
He hit Jeremiah Smith for what looked like a 37-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but it was overturned because the ball hit the ground in Smith’s hands. Still, it might go down as one of Howard’s best passes of the season.
Ohio State has gotten the good version of Howard more often than not this season, but if he can consistently hit the deep ball, to pair with his legs and underneath accuracy, the Buckeyes offense can be deadly.
It’s Playoff time every week
Every game since the loss to Oregon has been a must-win for the Buckeyes, but things are a little bit different from here on out.
Ohio State had a two-week run blowing out Purdue and Northwestern 76-7 to iron out any kinks. Every game will have a Playoff intensity with unbeaten Indiana coming to Columbus next weekend and rival Michigan set for the final game of the regular season.
Coach Ryan Day loves to refer to ranked games as “matchup games.” Indiana has one of the most explosive offenses in the country and an elite defensive front. Although Michigan is a shell of the national championship team from a year ago, wild things happen in rivalry games, and Day needs to win that game more than any other on the schedule.
Win out, then Ohio State gets an Oregon rematch in the Big Ten title game before the Playoff.
There are no more cupcakes on the schedule. The postseason might still be a few weeks away, but every game from here on out is going to feel like it’s here.
Carnell Tate puts up career day in his hometown
There’s no better story from Saturday than seeing Tate have a career day in Chicago.
Tate, a four-star prospect in the 2023 class, has been one of Ohio State’s best receivers from the moment he stepped on campus. In some ways, he’s gone unnoticed by many because freshman star Jeremiah Smith is breaking records and senior Emeka Egbuka is among the best receivers in the country, too.
That didn’t stop Tate from showing out on Saturday. He had four receptions for 52 yards and two touchdowns in his hometown.
But it was more than just a homecoming for the sophomore, who had 27 tickets passed out to friends and family. It was his first game in his hometown since his freshman year of high school. He transferred to IMG Academy in Florida after that season and never played a down at home again — until Saturday.
(Photo of Northwestern’s Cam Porter and Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer, Caleb Downs, Davison Igbinosun and Ty Hamilton: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
