It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty, but Ohio State found what it needed in the second half to beat back an upstart, well-coached, and hardnosed Northwestern squad 22-10. The Buckeyes did it in a way almost nobody could predict.
That’s because quarterback Justin Fields had an unusually off game against a Wildcat defense that doesn’t give up the big play. He threw two interceptions, only completed 12 of 27 passes and seemed to be frustrated by the scheme of the Northwestern defense. It didn’t help that Chris Olave was lost before the game even started.
So, Ohio State jumped on the shoulders of running back Trey Sermon who absolutely went off today. He wasn’t used very much in the first half, but even then, you could see signs that he was dialed in. Once the second half hit and OSU was behind, struggling to find any rhythm in the passing game, it was time to turn to Sermon.
Time after time, he found holes and used his vision, shiftiness, and speed to rip off big run after big run. At the end of the day, he was the MVP Ohio State sorely needed, breaking the single-game OSU rushing record, going for 331 yards rushing, 270 of it coming after halftime.
TREY SERMON CAME TO PLAY 😤
He set an Ohio State single-game record AND Big Ten Championship record with 331 rushing yards ‼️ pic.twitter.com/EeHYg9sVrL
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 19, 2020
With the win, the Buckeyes have won their fourth-straight Big Ten Championship and should have punched a ticket to the College Football Playoff. It’s not a slam dunk with what we’ve seen from this CFP committee, but you can probably feel pretty safe on making some postseason playoff plans that have a scarlet and gray hue to them.
We’ll find out for sure tomorrow when the pairings are announced.
