The No.2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to Chicago’s Wrigley Field this weekend to battle the Northwestern Wildcats. The Buckeyes come into the game on a three-game winning streak and fresh off of a 45-0 shutout of Purdue in the ‘Shoe. The Wildcats have lost four of their last six, but are coming off an overtime win against Purdue and had a bye week last week.

The spread is set at Ohio State -30 with the over/under total at 44.5 points. The Buckeyes are expected to roll and continue moving forward with some huge games following this one. Let’s take a look at the easiest of the three remaining games on the schedule.

 

Buckeyes Are Picking Up Speed

Ohio State has found its groove at the right time, and is coming off of a dominating performance. Quarterback Will Howard has full command of the offense, and had four touchdowns with just five incompletions against Purdue. He is up to 2,237 passing yards and 28 total touchdowns on the year with just five interceptions. He will have a similar game script this game as he did the Buckeyes’ last outing, with the chance to make plays in the first-half and coast in the second-half.

TreVeyon Henderson had a great game against the Boilermakers with six carries for 85 yards and a touchdown, along with three receptions for 43 yards. I personally feel like he needs to be on the field more and given more touches, as he is a home run waiting to happen, pun intended. Quinshon Judkins played well against Penn State but struggled at times last game along with the offensive line. Judkins had just 32 rushing yards on 11 carries. The dynamic duo has over 1,200 rushing yards on the year and 11 rushing touchdowns. They will both see a steady dose in this game with James Peoples potentially getting a few carries late.

Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate both hauled in six catches last game for 87 and 56 yards respectively. Smith was one of three Buckeyes to catch a touchdown, along with Gee Scott Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. It was a good all-around game from the receiving core, as eight guys had at least one catch and at least 10 receiving yards. This will be another game where guys like Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rodgers will likely be on the field a lot. Getting everyone involved will only help the offense as the season gets into its toughest stretch of games following this one.

The Silver Bullets defense has continued to put together complete performances and did so yet again against an underwhelming Purdue offense. They held Purdue to just 108 passing yards and nine completions. Purdue only gained 98 rushing yards on 38 carries, good for 2.6 yards per rush. The team barely eclipsed 200 total yards, and a fumble deep in their own territory led to a Jack Sawyer fumble return touchdown.

Jack Sawyer’s Scoop & Score adds to the lead for the Buckeyes!

Ohio State is DOMINATING 😤
pic.twitter.com/iJOv85PAII

— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) November 9, 2024

The defense will have another favorable matchup this week. I don’t see them pitching a shutout again, but expect maybe one endzone appearance from the Wildcats. Northwestern has some playmakers that I’ll get into, but the Ohio State defense won’t make it easy. Six different players registered at least half a sack last game, and players are flying around the field. Cody Simon, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs are hawking the ball, and the defensive line is starting to gain momentum.

Northwestern Has Had a Rough Go

Northwestern comes into this game 4-5 and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch has taken most of the snaps at quarterback but hasn’t been very good. He has 1,120 passing yards in seven appearances, with three games under 100 passing yards. He has just five passing touchdowns and four picks, so won’t be burning the Ohio State secondary very often.

The running back duo of Senior Cam Porter and Sophomore Joseph Himon II have helped out Lausch especially in their recent outing with Purdue where they combined for Northwestern’s only three touchdowns. Porter averages 4.0 a carry while Himon II averages 5.2 in a little less than half the carries. They have eight rushing touchdowns on the year but not a lot of yards, so the advantage will again go to the Buckeyes defense.

Through the air, senior wideout and Michigan transfer A.J. Henning leads the team in receptions with 40, receiving yards with 426, and is the only player with multiple receiving touchdowns with three. Senior wide receiver Bryce Kirtz will stretch the field and has 414 receiving yards on the season. Senior tight end Thomas Gordon has 18 receptions for 183 yards.

On defense, linebackers Junior Mac Uihlein and Senior Xander Mueller anchor the middle of the field for the Wildcats and have combined for just over 100 total tackles this season. Junior defensive back Theran Johnson is the only Wildcat with multiple interceptions with two, with one being a pick six. He’s also second on the team in tackles with 44. Northwestern’s linebackers and secondary make most of the plays while the line has struggled at times.

Northwestern has 19 sacks on the year with Sophomore Anto Saka and Sophomore Michael Kilbane leading the team with two and a half each. The defensive line will struggle against an Ohio State offensive line that has rapidly improved and battled through injuries as of late. I don’t expect the Wildcats defense to hold Ohio State points-wise as they gave up 41 to Indiana and 40 to Iowa. They have had some good defensive outings, but Ohio State’s offense is just too explosive with playmakers from sideline to sideline.

Buckeyes Will Hit A Homerun

This is Ohio State’s easiest remaining opponent by far, and that will be evident throughout the game. I could see Ohio State having a slow-ish start to the game given the field and environment. They should pick up the pace and some points fairly quickly though, and hopefully gain a big lead and let a lot of players see some time.

Will Howard will do what he has done all season, which is distributing the ball around to his playmakers. I could see another Carnell Tate touchdown and another Jeremiah Smith sprint into the endzone or crazy catch for a score. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins will both get their chance to break out for a home-run play.

Defensively the Silver Bullets should have no problem slowing down Northwestern’s offense which goes through periods where it can’t get rolling. A few double-plays, or I guess turnovers, would be nice to see in this one. The stars across the field for Ohio State will make sure this game is over early, with another potential top-five matchup looming next week. Buckeyes get up and stay up, in a “road” game that may be dominated by Ohio State fans, including myself. The Buckeyes will be 9-1 with Indiana and That Team Up North looming.

Prediction: Ohio State 41 Northwestern 10

Featured image via: USA TODAY Sports