Game Preview: Ohio State vs Northwestern
The Buckeyes go on the road for the final time this regular season, and this one will be a first as they take on Northwestern in Wrigley Field, Ohio State’s first time playing in a baseball stadium. For the novelty of the venue and the game, it will be unique, but for the safety of the players, especially one that is competing for a Big Ten and National Championship run, this game could not have been set up any worse. For fans of baseball and who like this concept, I hope it is a great game, and for the fans who attend, they will be a part of something historic.
In 1991, the Buckeyes beat the Wildcats 34-3 before 73,830 at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium — longtime home to baseball’s Indians and the NFL’s Browns. That was officially a home game for Northwestern as part of a deal with Browns owner Art Modell to move the matchup from Evanston, Ill., and give a cash-strapped athletic department a financial boost.
Ohio State will finish its season with noon kickoffs, although opening pitch for this one is technically going to be at 11am CST. The Buckeyes will not get to go into a locker room at halftime, and instead will have to meet in a dugout. The players and coaches all seem to be looking forward to this opportunity, and will be testing out the field on Friday, a little different than what they normally do, but because of the grass field, and unique dimensions, a day of prep will help them out for their game day preparations.
This will be the last “tune up” game as well for Ohio State, because next week will be a top 10 showdown against Indiana, who is still undefeated, and has a bye week this week to prepare. And it doesn’t need to be said, but the week after is The Game, and “That Team Up North” is fighting for bowl eligibility, while awaiting their final punishment from the NCAA for the illegal scouting and recruiting violations.
Back to this game though, the Buckeyes cannot afford to overlook Northwestern, who is still a good defensive team, who had a close game against the Hoosiers a few weeks prior, and this would be an important game to win for them as they are also looking for bowl eligibility, finishing their season with the Wolverines, and Illinois.
Know The Opponent:
Head Coach: David Braun(2nd season)
2024 Record: 4-5
Conference: Big Ten
Location: Evanston, IL
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗹. 𝟭𝟬 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 🍿🔥🎥 pic.twitter.com/TTdevCXJhu
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 14, 2024
Ohio State Preview
As the trailer for this game states, November is different, and the Buckeyes are looking to finish the month undefeated in order to keep their season goals alive.
The Buckeyes have to win their remaining games to keep their national championship hopes alive, and they sure can’t afford a letdown against Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Saturday.
“Every week for us is like the playoffs right now,” Day said. “We’re fighting for a chance to get to Indianapolis (for the Big Ten championship game). It’s always a topic of conversation, and it’s going to come down to our seniors and leaders and how they echo that message.”
The Buckeyes remained at number 2 in the College Football Playoff Poll, and are projected as the 5 seed, which is the highest spot for a non-conference team, but the Buckeyes want to get that first round bye.
Will Howard has been hitting his stride, despite a few errors in the Penn State game, and is sitting at 2,237 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, not throwing a single interception last week. He has also rushed for 122 on 62 carries, and has 6 touchdowns on the ground. When asked about Howard not getting much Heisman love, even though his numbers are comparable to Dillon Gabriel, both Day and Howard were not worried about the Heisman, and insted emphasized that this team is focused on the team goals of winning championships. With that, the individual awards will follow.
Quinshon Judkins leads the running back room with 647 yards on 106 carries, and 5 touchdowns. He struggled a bit last week on the ground against Purdue’s Bear front defense, but has stayed positive despite not getting numbers. TreVeyon Henderson was the running back who shined last week and has 78 carries for 588 yards, and 5 touchdowns.
Jeremiah Smith owns every freshman Ohio State record for a receiver, and has been getting attention for national awards. He has 45 catches for 765 yards and 9 touchdowns. Emeka Eqbuka had a quiet day last week with only 1 catch, but it went for a touchdown. He has 47 catches and 587 yards now with 8 touchdowns. Carnell Tate has been getting more involved lately, and has 27 catches for 405 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Northwestern Preview
This is the first of two games at Wrigley Field for Northwestern, which is coming off a bye after a 26-20 overtime win at Purdue. The Wildcats host Illinois at in Wrigley in their final game on November 30th.
Northwestern’s first five home games were at its temporary lakefront facility. A new Ryan Field being built on the site of the old stadium is scheduled to open in 2026.
“I do think we benefit from the fact that not only has the program been to Wrigley prior, but we were there just last year,” Northwestern coach David Braun said, referring to a loss to Iowa. “Logistically, I think there are a lot of things our guys are comfortable with in terms of what game day is gonna look like.”
Northwestern enters the game with a 4-5 record, with wins over Miami (OH), Eastern Illinois, Maryland, and the double overtime win against Purdue. They lost close to Duke, but did not have much success against Washington, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
They are led by quarterback Jack Lausch, who has 1120 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He also has 218 rushing yards on 61 carries with a touchdown.
Cam porter is their leading running back, and he has 387 yards on 97 carries, with 6 touchdowns. Behind him is Joseph Himon II, who has 230 yards on 44 carries, and 2 touchdowns. Both are used in the passing game, and have 218 receiving yards between them.
AJ Hennin is the leading receiver with 426 yards on 40 catches with 3 touchdowns. Bryce Kirtz is second on the team with 27 catches from 414 yards. Tight End Thomas Gordon is third on the team with 18 catches for 183 yards.
Buckeye Spotlight
Carnell Tate. The Chicago native will be playing in a Homecoming game, and he has emerged the last two weeks as someone Chip Kelly and Ryan Day are wanting to get involved more. With this being a special game for him, and everything he has been through the last year and a half, I am sure that the Buckeye offense will make sure to give him some sort of spotlight.
Wildcat Spotlight
Mac Uihlein. The linebacker is the centerpiece of on of the top run defenses in the country. For the year, he has 59 tackles, with 3.5 for a loss and 2 sacks.
Water Cooler Stat of the Game
335. A total of 335 professional football games have been played at Wrigley Field, including games played by the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cardinals. Wrigley Field once held the record for the most NFL games played in a single stadium, with 365 regular season games. However, Giants Stadium in New Jersey surpassed this record in 2003.
Prediction
Like last week, the Buckeyes should have this game won before stepping on the diamond, but they play these games for a reason, so if the Buckeyes play their worst game of the season, that is Northwestern’s best chance of beating the Buckeyes. If Ohio State plays like they did last week, they are putting up another data point as one of the best teams in the country. I don’t think the starters play past the 3rd quarter, and we start to play keep away in the fourth quarter with Devin Brown, Julian Sayin, and James Peoples, while the starters put up of 400 yards of total offense.