No. 2 Ohio State overcomes slow start and weather, downs Northwestern 21-7

It wasn’t pretty, but the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes still got the job done in a 21-7 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday.

The matchup was defined by really ugly weather conditions in Evanston, IL, with a mix of rain and wind gusts of up to 50 MPH. That played right into the favor of Northwestern (1-8, 1-4 Big Ten), who closed as a 38-point underdog to the Buckeyes on DraftKings Sportsbook. As expected, the Wildcats mostly bled the clock and leaned into its run game to get the job done against the favored powerhouse in the first half, entering halftime tied 7-7.

Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) had to continue to grind and eventually pulled ahead with a 27-yard Miyan Williams touchdown run midway through the third quarter. The Buckeye offense traded a few more punts with the Wildcats before Williams punched in another TD late in the fourth quarter to effectively seal the contest.

OSU managed to survive and remain unbeaten for the year, but one has to wonder if they will be punished by the College Football Playoff committee when the new batch of rankings are released this Tuesday. The Buckeyes will host the Indiana Hoosiers next Saturday in Columbus, OH.