One of the Ohio State football team’s biggest goals of the 2020 season was to play in — and win — another Big Ten Championship. The Buckeyes will have that opportunity on Saturday when they face the West division champion, Northwestern Wildcats.
Not many folks are giving Northwestern much of a chance in this one, but it’s a program built on overachieving and proving all the doubters wrong. That’s been the culture under Pat Fitzgerald and it has continued in 2020. Just when you think the Wildcats don’t have the personnel to hang with the more so-called talented squads, they show what a well-coached team they are and do some pretty amazing things.
But beating Ohio State on Saturday is a whole different animal, something that isn’t lost on Fitzgerald. Northwestern may have to play its best, most-inspired game of the season to shock the college football world. So yeah, it’s a big challenge.
Here are five reasons Ohio State will be Northwestern on Saturday in Indy.
NEXT … It’s simple math. Skill.
Ohio State is simply more talented
Not even the coaching staff at Northwestern would tell you that the Wildcats have more talent than the Ohio State sideline. The Buckeyes consistently rake in top-five national recruiting classes and send a ton of players to the NFL.
Northwestern is always a well-schooled team that will make the opposition work for a win rather than give anything away. The Wildcats play with great discipline and effort, and that wins a lot of ballgames.
However, when it comes down to it, that only takes you so far when you run up against a team that has the skill, speed, and athleticism of Ohio State. Even being outcoached can’t get over the hump against elite players. That’s where things are in this one.
NEXT … Ohio State’s defense
Northwestern’s offense plays right into the hands of the OSU defense
Northwestern wants to control the clock, play great defense, and gobble up yards on the ground. The passing game will be efficient and flash when necessary, but it’s not the main mode of operation.
For Ohio State, that’s great news. If there’s been a weakness on defense this year, it’s clearly been with pass defense. On the other hand, stopping the run has not been an issue with the front seven creating havoc and filling gaps. In fact, the Buckeyes are No. 6 in the country when it comes to surrendering yards on the ground.
That’s a big, big advantage for Ohio State.
NEXT … Justin Fields on the fly
Justin Fields’ ability to ad-lib
Though Northwestern has a statistically speaking the No. 2 ranked defense in the Big Ten, it’s not an aggressive unit that’s going to put Justin Fields in a bind. Instead, the Wildcats will look to keep everything in front of them and tackle. The windows to throw the ball in are tighter and patience has to be the name of the game.
In that regard though, Ohio State has an advantage not a lot of teams do that go against that type of scheme. Northwestern can be tin the right spot and lock things down in the passing game, but that’s when Fields can get crafty and ad-lib. He’s been used in the running game more this year, and in this case, it may not be by design, but out of necessity when the Wildcats have everything covered up but the Q-run.
NEXT … Ohio State needs it more
The psychology of needing the win
For Northwestern, it’s great to be in the Big Ten Championship Game, but that’s where any talk of titles end. That’s because the Wildcats have no shot at getting into the College Football Playoff since the loss to Michigan State.
But that’s not the case with Ohio State. There are much bigger fish to fry — namely a chance to win a national championship. But to do that, the Buckeyes absolutely need to win Saturday.
The team fought like crazy just to have a season so that it could wash that bad taste out of its mouth from the loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl last year. I don’t know that the leaders on this OSU team are going to let things end on Saturday. The emotion and execution should be at a very high level for Ohio State.
NEXT … In the trenches
Ohio State should be able to win on both lines
You can talk about skill, and you can also talk about size, muscle, and aggression. Not to take anything away from Northwestern, but the size and strength on both lines Ohio State’s going to roll out there is going to be a problem.
The defensive line continues to improve and can roll out multiple combinations to remain fresh. Those guys play with a motor and get a lot of push as well.
The offensive line going against Northwestern should be able to push around a little lighter defensive line as well, especially if some of the starters are back in the fold like we think. Ohio State has talent, but it also has the guys that are big and strong and should have no problem winning most battles along the frontlines.
