First Posted: 10/6/2013
EVANSTON, Ill. – Ohio State’s players ran to celebrate their 40-30 win over Northwestern with their fans Saturday night when it was over.
And Northwestern quickly ran under the canopy to its locker room like so many other Wildcats teams have done the last 40 years against Ohio State.
No. 16 Northwestern (4-1, 0-1 Big Ten) had the No. 4 Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) on the ropes when it led 23-13 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter in what was billed as the biggest home game at Northwestern since at least 1995..
But OSU roared back with 20 fourth-quarter points, including a fumble recovery in the end zone by Joey Bosa as time ran out, to make the game look not quite as close as it really was.
The win was the 18th in a row for Ohio State and kept Urban Meyer undefeated as the Buckeyes’ coach. It was the 29th time in the last 30 games between Ohio State and Northwestern that OSU came out on top.
Carlos Hyde rushed for 168 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns – all in the second half – on a night when quarterback Braxton Miller had a sub-par game and No. 2 tailback Jordan Hall couldn’t play because of a knee injury.
And in the end, OSU’s defense, which had struggled much of the game, came up with a huge play.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer described the game as “a street fight.”
“They’ve got very good players and borderline great players at some positions,” he said about Northwestern.
“Obviously, there are a lot of thing to fix. But a win against a top 20 team on the road, I’m proud of our guys,” Meyer said.
The lead changed hands three times in just over six minutes in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State, which had fallen behind 23-13, took its first lead since the first quarter at 27-23 when Hyde scored a touchdown on a two-yard run that wasn’t confirmed until the replay booth reversed the call on the field.
That score, which was set up by Doran Grant’s interception at Northwestern’s 12-yard line, came with 11:29 left in the game.
Northwestern responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with quarterback Trevor Siemian throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Dickerson to put the Wildcats back on top at 30-27 with 9:10 left in the game.
Ohio State came right back with and 81-yard drive to go in front 34-30 with 5:22 to play on a 7-yard run by Hyde.
Northwestern moved to Ohio State’s 34-yard line with 2:43, but came up inches short on a fourth down and half a yard situation to go.
Kain Colter, the other half of Northwestern’s quarterback duo, fumbled the snap on the play, picked it up but came up just short.
Siemian (13 of 18 for 245 yards) and Colter (12 of 12 for 98 yards) combined to complete 25 of 30 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns against an Ohio State defense that appeared to be missing injured safety Christian Bryant quite a bit.
OSU’s Miller completed 15 of 26 passes for 203 yards and no touchdowns. He also rushed for 68 yards on 17 carries. But he lost two fumbles and threw an interception.
Ohio State fell behind 20-13 at halftime, then watched Northwestern get a field goal in the third quarter to go up 23-13.
In a forgettable first half, OSU had two turnovers, two quarters of its defense offering mostly token resistance to Northwestern’s offense and some questionable decisions by both players and coaches.
Though Northwestern outgained the Buckeyes by only eight yards in the first two quarters (213-208), it looked worse than that because the Wildcats were the aggressor and OSU was reacting, often a step late.
Ohio State’s first drive was a preview of their problems in the first two quarters. With Miller hitting 5 of his first 6 passes, they moved to Northwestern’s 9-yard line. But then the offense stalled and they had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Drew Basil and a 3-0 lead.
If that opening drive shortcoming was a preview, their second possession was a punch in the face.
Northwestern defensive end Tyler Scott stipped the ball from Miller’s hands as he pressured him, then recovered the ball at Ohio State’s 23-yard line.
Four plays later, Siemian delivered a 9-yard scoring pass to Colter, who had lined up as a slot receiver. It was the first time Ohio State was behind this season.
The Buckeyes seemed to turn the momentum their way when Bradley Roby blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to give OSU a 10-7 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
But Northwestern was unshaken and drove 75 yards in 10 plays to go up 14-10 when Colter scored on a 2-yard run with 13:19 left in the first half.
Ohio State answered with a 20-yard field goal by Basil to make it 14-13, but it was the second time OSU had gotten inside Northwestern’s 10-yard line and came away with only a field goal.
Basil’s field goal came one play after Miller overthrew wide open Chris Fields in the end zone. Miller hit only 2 of his last 9 passes in the first half for 34 yards.
Meanwhile, Colter and Siemian hit 10 of their first 11 throws and 11 of 13 for 144 yards overall.
After a 23-yard field goal by Jeff Budzien put Northwestern ahead 17-13, Ohio State gambled and lost when it called a fake punt by punter Cameron Johnston from its own 32-yard line.
Johnston was stopped for a two-yard loss and Budzien got his second field goal of the night on a 30-yarder.
