It’s almost time for another Ohio State appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game. It’ll be the fourth-straight time the Buckeyes have found themselves in Indianapolis and the second time in three years Northwestern will be the opponent.
On paper, it looks like a mismatch, but any team coached by Pat Fitzgerald is coaching a team, it is going to have a chip on its shoulder and give all-out effort. There may be a big gap in talent between the two programs but you can bet the Wildcats have the belief they can hang, and beat, the Buckeyes.
And it’s not just lip service either. There are some reasons to believe that Northwestern could make this thing a game and give Ohio State some problems.
Here are three reasons Chicago’s Big Ten team could provide more than a little resistance against the Buckeyes on Saturday.
NEXT … Defense
This will be the best defense Ohio State has faced all year
Day says Northwestern's defense doesn't give you an inch. Their DC has been attacked in so many different ways, and always has an answer. You might get him once with a concept, but you won't get him multiple times.
— Tom Orr (@TomOrr4) December 13, 2020
Yeah, I know, what about Indiana? There’s no doubt the Hoosiers’ aggressive down-hill attack caused Justin Fields and the OSU offense some issues with turnovers and mistakes. And while Northwestern isn’t built that way, it’s statistically better than Indiana.
The Wildcats won’t bring pressure from all angles and downs, but they’ll be in the right place at the right time and make Ohio State’s offense work hard to move the ball down the field patiently. In fact, Fitzgerald’s crew is one of the best in the country in pass defense efficiency, even intercepting 12 passes this year.
Fields and the talented wide-receivers will be tested.
NEXT … The underdog mentality
Northwestern will play with a chip on its shoulder
Northwestern relishes underdog role in Big Ten football title game matchup with Ohio State https://t.co/sGCgUbhZ7r
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) December 16, 2020
If we’ve seen it once, we’ve seen it over and over. There are certain programs that embrace that us against the world mentality and love to use the underdog card. In the case of Northwestern, it has become a part of the culture under Fitzgerald. It’s an academic institution, so recruiting the right kid is hard, and there are some built-in disadvantages that come with all of that and the lack of football tradition.
But this program is a changed one that is more than competitive now. It may not have been able to slay the Ohio State beast recently, but the Wildcats are knocking on the door and you can bet they can’t wait to play with emotion and purpose on Saturday.
This team might rise up and play its best game of the year because of the opponent and stage.
NEXT … Deja Vu
Northwestern won’t have stage fright this time
There are 14 programs in the Big Ten.
Only 4 have made multiple trips to the #B1G championship game.
Northwestern is one of those programs 😎 pic.twitter.com/4ib3Uagcjm
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) December 6, 2020
I’m not saying the moment was too big for Northwestern back in 2018, but there’s something to be said about being content to be in the big game, and then wanting a taste for more. There are plenty of guys on the Wildcats that remember the environment and pain from losing to Ohio State a couple of years ago.
In that game, the Wildcats played with big, bad OSU and had a chance to come all the way back before Ohio State pulled away. Now, Northwestern wants more. It knows and believes it can play with the Buckeyes and isn’t going to be shell-shocked by the environment and setting in Indianapolis. Buckeye fans also won’t be able to create any sort of home-field advantage, so add that to it all.
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