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October 27, 2016Everybody take a deep breath. Inhale. Hold it. Now exhale.
Now there is no getting around the fact that last week the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 B1G) lost a brutal, gut churning game at the hands of Penn State Nittany Lions. PSU blocked a field goal. The students rushed the field. These things happen. The good news is, Ohio State’s season goals – East Division Champs, Big Ten Champs, Playoff Participants – are all still attainable. The road to redemption begins in Columbus this Saturday when the Northwestern Wildcats (4-3, 3-1) come calling.
Ohio State and Northwestern can date their rivalry back to 1913. The Wildcats were founding members of the Big Ten in 1896, and have struggled mightily against the Buckeyes since OSU joined in 1912. The Bucks hold a 60-14-1 all-time series lead. Ohio State owns a five game win streak in the series, and Northwestern has not defeated OSU since 2004. The ‘Cats have not won a game in Columbus since 1971. Northwestern, for many years known more for its academics than its athletics, has been resurgent in recent years. Their last matchup was a classic, a 40-30 Ohio State road win in 2013. Fun fact: Northwestern last won the conference outright in 1995 (last shared title in 2000).
Despite a rocky start to 2016, Northwestern is firmly ensconced in the “frisky” tier of the Big Ten West. Not big and bad enough to sit in first place and not lousy enough to be a doormat. The Wildcats opened the season with back-to-back home losses to the MAC’s Western Michigan and FCS Illinois State followed by a win over Duke. NU opened Big Ten play with a home loss to Nebraska. They finally took to the road and defeated both Iowa and Michigan State before bouncing Indiana at home last week.
At 3-1 in conference, the Pride of Evanston sits in second place in the Big Ten West behind 4-0 Nebraska. Because the Cats already lost to the Cornhuskers they would need to win out and see the Huskers lose twice to make it to Indianapolis. That scenario is not especially likely, but considering their ignominious start to the season they have come a long way.
Get used to hearing the name “Austin Carr” on Saturday. No, Mr. Cavalier will not be in attendance (he’s out of the country working), we are talking about Northwestern’s senior wide receiver Austin Carr. The 6-1 Californian leads the conference in receptions (50), receiving yards (720), receiving yards per game (102.9), and touchdown receptions (9). He ranks fifth nationally in touchdown receptions and has caught a score in six straight games. He should be at the top of Ohio State’s “players to watch list.”
The man throwing him passes is sophomore QB Clayton Thorson. Thorson has completed 143-of-247 passes for 1,686 yards, fourteen touchdowns, and five interceptions. He has also accounted for 86 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Throwback Program
Now this is a program. Our cover this week is a time capsule showing the layout of Ohio State’s campus days after the stock market crashed. The Oval is a familiar site as well as University Hall. Other than that the sight of livestock where the Thompson Library should be is a surprise. Also there seems to be neither a “north” or “south” campus, simply the Oval and its surrounding buildings. Plus if you squint enough it looks like a map of Middle Earth. Ohio State lost the game in question, 18-6.
The road to the postseason got a little longer on Saturday, but it is still driveable. Ohio State’s best path is as follows:
- Win Out. Under this scenario the Bucks finish 11-1, 8-1 in conference with wins over (likely) high ranked Nebraska and Michigan.
- Penn State loses at least one more game. A second conference loss for them prevents funky tiebreaker situations.
- Win the Big Ten. The conference title game is a guaranteed matchup with a highly ranked West Division opponent. Ranked wins never hurt.
- Some combination of Clemson, Washington, or Alabama lose at some point.
- Playoffs!
If all that falls into place for the Bucks then they have a more than decent shot at a playoff spot. Even if the Big Ten champs are boxed out of a playoff game the Rose Bowl is a more than respectable consolation prize.
This is not your daddy’s Northwestern team. Between 1972 and 2003 Ohio State rattled off 24 straight wins over the Wildcats with such gaudy boxscores as 60-0, 55-7, 63-0, and 54-10. This Wildcat team will not go down by such a dramatic margin. Ohio State survived Wisconsin. They fell victim to Penn State and honestly did not look strong in defeat. It would be a grave mistake to call this game an automatic win.
The key advantage for the Buckeyes is the venue: Home. Ohio State plays well at home, and is 31-2 at Ohio Stadium under Urban Meyer. The ‘Cats will put up a fight, but Ohio State should have the bounce back game they need to get back on the road to January.
2 Comments
SUoO:
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Mildcats: 6
Notice that the clock ends at 42. Which is nice, given our history against scUM. We like 42. Thanks for the omen.