Northwestern gave No. 2 Ohio State their closest game since their season opener, but the Buckeyes escaped Evanston with a 21-7 win. WildcatReport recaps in this weeks takeaways:
Northwestern gave No. 2 Ohio State their closest game since their season opener, but the Buckeyes escaped Evanston with a 21-7 win.
In the first quarter, when Northwestern had the elements on their side, they outgained OSU 113-47 and opened up a 7-0 lead. OSU had the wind in the second quarter and outgained the Wildcats 71-27 and tied the game up at 7-7. Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian's commitment to running the Wildcat formation ran sour after initial success. The Wildcats ran 17 plays out of the formation for 63 yards and a touchdown, but the drop off in returns was sharp.
On the second drive of the third quarter, Northwestern again hamstrung themselves via the Wildcat. Using traditional offense, Cam Porter had two rushes that led to a third-and-3, where Sullivan scrambled and flipped a pass to Washington for a nine-yard gain and a first down. With the entire Buckeye defense guessing run almost every down, and with 17 Wildcat plays to boot, Hull and Porter made chicken salad all day long. This running back tandem was cause for major excitement throughout the preseason. Hull had mostly seized the reins as the lead back heading into this game, but Porter's resurgence against the Buckeyes shows that they can deliver as a tandem.
It sounds odd to say in a game where he only threw the ball 14 times, but this was a solid performance from quarterback Brendan Sullivan. There were awful conditions against one of the best defenses in the country, but Sullivan protected the ball to perfection. He also made a couple impressive plays in the fourth quarter, throwing a bullet to Malik Washington through a very tight window, and finding Porter for a first down after twice avoiding a heavy Ohio State rush.
“I thought our defense, for the most part, did a pretty darn good job… I thought those guys fought their tails off and gave us a chance to win, he said.” "They have a great room over there," said cornerback Cam Mitchell, who had three PBUs,"but we have a great room, too."Pat Fitzgerald coaches Cam Mitchell during NU's 21-7 loss to Ohio State.
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