Ohio State holds on to beat Northwestern 24-20

Last year Jones got the nod as the starter, then faltered and Barrett stepped in again and had become the bedrock of the current program. Trailing 24-17, it converted four third downs on an impressive drive. After turning one of his just two carries against Penn State into a 74-yard touchdown run, it’s understandable why Meyer might want to ramp up the production – even with eight catches tacked on to get him to double digits.

Northwestern has some weapons on offense to throw at Ohio State. “I think we’re going to get that figured out”.

That same unit will have its work cut out for it Saturday as Ohio State (6-1, 3-1), now ranked sixth in the nation, is averaging almost 281 rushing yards per contest – first in the Big Ten.

With possibility of a blowout seemingly in the balance, the Wildcats responded, led once again by Thorson and the offense.

Tackling in the open field was a problem for the Wildcats.

For the Wildcats to pull off the upset, they’ll need quarterback Clayton Thorson to have a big game.

My point: Sure, the result angered the Buckeyes. The drive was capped off by a 23-yard TD scamper from Mike Weber. Northwestern held the ball for 12 plays on the drive. The Buckeyes ran off eight plays to reach the 18 but had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by senior Tyler Durbin for a 10-0 lead at the 6:36 mark.

The first tie-breaker if head-to-head competition doesn’t decide it, according to the Big Ten website, is “the records of the three tied teams will be compared against each other”.

Ohio State is a three-touchdown favorite to get back on track against Northwestern, which hasn’t visited Columbus since 2007 and has lost 29 of the last 30 games between the teams. Penn State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) is firmly in the discussion for a division title, too.

The Wildcats, fresh off converting a fourth-and-2, will start the second quarter on the Ohio State 1-yard line. Starting from its own six-yard line, Northwestern managed to move the ball to around midfield, but the drive stalled. Obviously if we lose the game, I guess I should have gone for it on fourth-and-15.

However, Northwestern would have none of that. He keeps preaching that Ohio State will get back to its old juggernaut ways once it starts hitting more deep balls, but the only other real shot downfield was an incomplete pass to James Clark. Northwestern punted right back after a three-and-out and the stage was set for an incredible finish. Mike Weber Jr. had 87 yards and 2 TD’s, and h-back Curtis Samuel had 99 all-purpose yards. With a little under 10 minutes to go Northwestern trailed 24-17.

FILE – In this October 1, 2016, file photo, Ohio State running back Curtis Samuel plays against Rutgers during an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio.

“Now the heavy lifting starts”, Fitzgerald said.

Ray, you’re old-school. Do you remember the days when teams huddled up and ran plays in something less than fire-drill fashion? Pat Fitzgerald has his team playing at a high level and expect them to match Ohio State’s physicality in this game and keep it somewhat low scoring.

“So, just a very good team. You got to learn from what happened but you can’t dread on that because there’s no good in doing that and it’s all got to be focused on the next game and getting ready for that”.

Through the first four games, Barrett had thrown for 888 yards (222 yard avg), 14 touchdowns and completed 68 percent of his passes. This offense is one of the better ones in the sport, but it’s hard to explain exactly what went wrong in Happy Valley. Northwestern’s second-down play was the one it successfully called for a two-point conversion in the 2010 Outback Bowl against Auburn – an end-around flip to a receiver (Andrew Scanlan) who lofts it in the corner of the end zone. The Buckeyes mounted a final clock-eating drive. Samuel ranks second in the Big Ten with 142.6 all-purpose yards per game.

Michigan at Michigan State: A year ago this was one of the most-talked about games of the college football season.