They could have changed the rules and given Northwestern five, six or seven plays to get 10 yards. It wouldn’t have mattered. That is how dominant Ohio State’s defense was Saturday in leading the fourth-ranked Buckeyes to a 20-0 victory.
Only once did Northwestern sniff the Ohio State goal line, driving to a first-and-goal at the 10 early in the second quarter. But then, after a 2-yard run by Noah Herron, right tackle Zach Strief was called for holding A.J. Hawk as the Buckeyes’ linebacker grabbed the jersey of NU quarterback Brett Basanez.
“I thought it was a clip before it was a hold,” Strief said. “All I did was dive at him, lead with my shoulder and try to get him on the ground. A lot of people will say if I don’t have a hold, it’s a touchdown. Well, if I don’t have a hold, he makes the tackle 5 yards in the backfield. So pick your poison.”
The poison picked by Strief freed up Basanez, who scampered into the end zone, but the penalty pushed the Wildcats back to the 18. Then Basanez was sacked for a 5-yard loss, the Wildcats lost 5 more on a delay-of-game penalty and, after an 11-yard scramble by Basanez, Slade Larscheid missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt.
Northwestern drove into Ohio State territory only once more, reaching a first-and-10 at the 31 midway through the third quarter. But Herron was thrown for a loss of 1, Basanez picked up only 2 on a run, Basanez missed Kunle Patrick on an out route and Larscheid missed his second field-goal attempt of the day, this one from 47 yards.
“We didn’t play well as an offense; that was obvious,” Wildcats coach Randy Walker said.
“We didn’t make the plays when we had to,” running back Jason Wright added. “The defense played well enough to win. We just have to make those plays.”
The NU defense got no favors from its offense, but it was every bit as good as Wright professed. Ohio State managed a long scoring drive on its first possession and another to open the second half, and that was it.
With starting quarterback Craig Krenzel out with a hyperextended elbow and Scott McMullen playing in his place, the Buckeyes went with a conservative game plan. But the rushing attack, always their strength, netted just 125 yards and averaged only 3.6 yards per carry, and never did their line overwhelm Northwestern’s.
Ohio State managed a field goal after a fumble by Wildcats wide receiver Ashton Aikens and another after starting a drive at its own 47. But, Walker said, “This is the best defense I’ve had in five years [at the school].”
But there also is no doubt that Ohio State’s is already better, and the numbers prove it. On the only two possessions when the Wildcats crossed midfield, they controlled the ball for 13 minutes 29 seconds, ran 30 plays and gained 111 yards. On the other 10 possessions, they controlled it for 15:14, ran 35 plays and gained 112 yards.
Northwestern went three-and-out eight times. The Wildcats had one possession that netted minus-9 yards, two that netted 1 yard each and a fourth that netted 3. They had possessions that lasted 50, 58, 60 and 66 seconds. They netted just 64 yards on 10 pass completions, just 121 yards on 40 rushes, and just 185 total yards for an average of 2.8 yards per play.
“The defense did a great job, and it hurts as an offensive player to let your team down,” Strief said. “And that’s what we did.”
