Ohio State has cruised through the 2019 schedule thus far, winning every game by at least 24 points, four of them by more than 40.
Now, after coming off a bye-week, the Buckeyes have to go on the road to face a Northwestern team that has had its fair share of challenges so far in 2019, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
But, we’ve seen some weird things happen when Ohio State has traveled on the road to play a conference game at night. Is there reason to be on high alert for this one, or will the talent the Buckeyes have bee to much for the quirky night setting on a Friday night that’s about to go down in Evanston?
We say Ohio State prevails, and here’s five reasons why.
Next … Northwestern’s dreadful offense
Historically bad offense for Northwestern
There’s no other way to put it but the fact that the Wildcats offense is one of the worst in all of FBS. It is at or near the bottom of nearly every major offensive team statistic out there. Sure the team lost a great quarterback in Clay Thorson last year, but who expected things to be this bad?
The team’s completion percentage is under 50 percent, and the rushing game is really about the only chance Northwestern has to move the chains on a consistent basis — and even that is spotty. There just doesn’t seem to be any plausible way Northwestern can go punch for punch with the offense of Ohio State.
Next … Depth
Ohio State’s going to come in waves
The Buckeyes have been lights out as far as scoring points in the second quarter, and I think a lot of that has to do with their depth across the board. Michigan State came in and started to punch the offensive line of Ohio State in the mouth a little, but it began to wear down. When it did, the OSU offensive line started punching holes and the running game gashed the Spartan defense.
Meanwhile, Ohio State rotated fresh bodies in on defense and just kept coming after Michigan State. There’s a reason you see OSU start to step on the gas pedal after the first quarter. There’s no doubt some adjustments going on along the sidelines, but that depth starts to lean on teams once things really get crankin’.
Next … Speed at the skill position
Speed kills
I know it can be a tired and lazy analysis to say that one team has an abundance of speed than the other, but it really does fit here. Even Pat Fitzgerald will tell you that he can’t go after some of the five-star kids that are blazing fast. Instead, Northwestern has to recruit the above average athlete that works his tail off rather than being able to run and jump higher right out of the box.
That’s not to say there aren’t very good athletes playing football for Chicago’s Big Ten team, it’s just a reality that when you look up and down the roster at 40-times, the athlete on scholarship in Columbus blows away the kids in purple. Look for matchups in space in this one where the Buckeyes can use that explosiveness. It’s a big advantage.
Next … Pressure up front
Ohio State will get in the backfield often
Chase Young and gang should have a field day in this one. Pat Fitzgerald is as good as anyone at devising ways to put his kids in a position to succeed against superior athletes, but there’s no amount of film or scheme that can stop the Ohio State train coming at him.
The Buckeye staff knows Northwestern’s struggles in the passing game, so it’s going to key in on the run and play downhill and fast in this one. The D-line is going to get a good push against an offensive line that’s struggled, and it’ll be like swimming across Lake Michigan to move the ball on the ground. And, once it loses the lead, Northwestern will have to take to the air and that’s when the edge rushers are going to pin their ears back and get after it.
Next … The environment
This isn’t Iowa City or Madison
We’ve said it before. Going on the road to play Northwestern is a little quirky. The stadium is smallish and windy at times, and the fan support can sometimes be lacking. And while that might make it tough to get up for, you’d rather face that than a raucous and rowdy environment like going to Iowa City or Madison.
It’s unlikely to be hard to hear for Ohio State’s offense. It’ll also be tough for Northwestern to play behind the emotion of the home Friday night crowd that might not be that well attended by Wildcat fans. It’s not exactly going to be jumping like what we saw with the Buckeyes’ two most recent traps at Iowa in 2017 and Purdue in 2018.
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