by Photo via Ken May (The Ozone)
On Saturday, the No. 2 Ohio State football team will take on Northwestern at the home of the MLB’s Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field. Similar to last week, the Buckeyes should have no problem with their opponent as they gear up for the final stretch of the regular season.
At 4-5, Northwestern has had a middling second season under Head Coach David Braun after winning eight games last year. The Wildcats are coming off a bye week and interestingly enough, their last win was against Purdue on Nov. 2, whom the Buckeyes beat last week.
Northwestern’s quarterback situation has been a mess of sorts this year, as Mike Wright started the year, but was benched after Week 2. Since then, it’s been Jack Lausch who’s been running the show, and he’s done a decent job. In his third season with the program, Lausch has 1,120 passing yards, five touchdown passes and four interceptions. While Lausch has had good flashes, Northwestern ranks last in the Big 10 in passing offense.
The Wildcats do, in fact, have a better run game, as they rank second to last in the conference rather than last. Cam Porter leads the team in rushing yards with just 387, but he does have an impressive six touchdowns. Lausch has also contributed 218 yards on the ground.
The receiving corps is led by A.J. Henning and Bryce Kirtz, who have 426 and 414 yard yards, respectively on the season. Henning, a Michigan transfer, has settled in nicely in his second year with the Wildcats, as he’s now surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards and has three touchdowns catches on the year. On the other hand, Kirtz has been a consistent presence for Northwestern throughout his five years with the program, going for over 200 yards in each of the last four seasons. Last year, he recorded 701 yards, good for ninth in the conference.
On the Ohio State side of things, the gameplan should look a lot like what it did against Purdue. Northwestern is another subpar opponent, whom the Buckeyes should handily beat as they prepare for No. 5 Indiana next weekend.
Generally, things are really looking up for the Ohio State offense. Quarterback Will Howard has continuously looked more and more comfortable since the Oregon game, the running game got going last couple weeks thanks to a surprisingly good offensive line, and the receiving core (largely thanks to Jeremiah Smith) has been as strong as advertised. There isn’t much else to say, just keeping doing what they’re doing and things should be fine.
A similar message should be said to the defense, as the unit has looked really good recently. The biggest thing on that side of the ball to be monitored should be health. Tyleik Williams didn’t play last week and if the game’s a blowout, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to see him play a ton of snaps. All around the field, but especially with the defensive line, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles should really rotate his guys like he did against Purdue. A lot’s going to happen between now and then, but Head Coach Ryan Day should start to think about the players that aren’t starters right now, but will be next year as most of the current starters in this star-studded group will be headed to the NFL after the season. That means if the Buckeyes can get off to a hot start, Day should get the likes of Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Kayden McDonald, Eddrick Houston, Arvell Reese, C.J. Hicks, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Jaylen McClain and more on the field for as much as he can.
Overall, if all goes to plan, it should be a fun game for Ohio State. On a historic field, the Buckeyes should easily take care of business, because let’s not forget, another loss could doom their title hopes.
