How can Ohio State football beat Northwestern? 3 keys against the Wildcats
Here are three keys for No. 2 Ohio State at Northwestern on Saturday:
Pressure the pocket
Northwestern’s Jack Lausch has the lowest completion percentage (53.6%) among starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten and his accuracy dips further when under duress. Lausch has completed just 22 of 58 passes (37.9%) when facing pressure, per Pro Football Focus. Among the league’s starters, only Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke has a lower percentage in those pressure situations. That should provide the Buckeyes with plenty of incentive to swarm the pocket with a pass rush that appears to be back on track. Their four sacks in last week’s shutout win over Purdue were their most in a month.
Spread the ball around
There is a mismatch on the perimeter. Northwestern ranks 99th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in pass defense and will be limited in coverage against the Buckeyes’ receiving trio of Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Unless the wind picks up across Lake Michigan, these are favorable conditions for quarterback Will Howard to distribute the ball to his cast of playmakers. There should be opportunities to feature running backs TreVeyon Hendeson and Quinshon Judkins in the passing game as well. Big Ten teams have averaged 254 passing yards per game against the Wildcats.
Look for edge on special teams
After blocking a punt against the Boilermakers last week, the Buckeyes could find another advantage with their punt return unit. That’s because Northwestern gives up 11 yards per return, the 25th highest average in the FBS. In a loss at Iowa last month, the Wildcats allowed wide receiver Kaden Wetjen to return a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. It’s been a decade since Ohio State’s last punt return touchdown, a drought coach Ryan Day has vowed to snap this year, and there should be opportunities this week to break one or at least set up favorable field position for their offense.
Key matchup
Ohio State rush offense vs. Northwestern rush defense
The strength of the Wildcats is their defensive line, a group led by upperclassmen Aidan Hubbard and Jaylen Pate that has made it difficult on opponents to run the ball against them. Northwestern has allowed only two running backs to surpass 100 yards this fall and ranks 16th in the FBS in rush defense, surrendering an average of only 108 yards per game. The next highest-ranked Big Ten team is Nebraska, which caused some issues for the Buckeyes in a close call three weeks ago, especially on third down, prompting drives to stall. Ohio State appeared to make strides the following weeks and will need the improvement to continue.
Key stat
21: Average margin of defeat for Northwestern in its four conference losses to Indiana, Iowa, Washington and Wisconsin.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.