It wasn't flashy or necessarily perfect but Ohio State figured out a way to keep its Big Ten Championship hopes alive on Saturday against Northwestern.
The Wildcats entered on a three-game winning streak, boasting an excellent passer in quarterback Clayton Thorson and a terrific receiver in Austin Carr. Thorson threw for 256 yars and a touchdown, while Carr finished with 158 yards receiving on eight catches.
But it wasn't enough for the Wildcats to pick up their first win in Columbus since 1971, due to J.T. Barrett's 34-yard run late in the fourth quarter that eventually sealed it for Ohio State.
The No. 6 Buckeyes move to 7-1 and 4-1 and Big Ten play. Here are three key stats to their victory against the Wildcats.
Ohio State Averages 5.7 Yards Per Play on 1st Down
As much as the Buckeyes continue to lack any semblance of a downfield passing game, Barrett and the offense took care of business on first down against the Wildcats on Saturday. The 5.7 yards per play average is a far cry from what happened a week earlier at Penn State, where Ohio State finished with an under 3.0 yards-per-play mark against the Nittany Lions in its 24-21 loss.
Ohio State only averaged 5.0 yards per play in that loss and even though that number barely rose against the Wildcats to 5.6, getting in 2nd-and-5 and 2nd-and-4 situations helped immensely as the game wore on. The offensive line got a much better push against Northwestern than at Penn State, which helped the running game find space.
It also protected Barrett to the tune of only allowing one sack on Saturday, much better than the six that happened in State College. That helped the Buckeyes move forward on early downs, especially early in the game when they scored on their first three possessions.
Ohio State Wins Turnover Margin
There was only one giveaway in the game, but it helped paint a bigger picture than just the +1 in the turnover margin for Ohio State. After Damon Arnette intercepted Clayton Thorson after Raekwon McMillan tipped a pass, the Buckeyes drove 33 yards in nine plays and kicked a field goal to make the score 10-0.
With a conservative approach resulting in hardly any explosive plays by its offense, Ohio State trusted Barrett and its running backs to take care of the ball. They all did and it proved to play a huge factor in the Buckeyes eking out their seventh win of the season.
Malik Hooker's 14 Tackles
The Buckeye defense bent and eventually broke four separate times, allowing lengthy scoring drives of 75, 82, 84 and 60 yards. That ate away the clock, as Thorson connected with Carr to move the chains on a pair of 4th down conversions and eight 3rd down conversions.
But on the drives the Buckeyes did force punts or short field goals, Malik Hooker's presence and closing speed were apparent. The star safety slashed at ballcarriers on multiple occasions to stop them at the line of scrimmage or for a short gain.
His 14 tackles easily led both teams—no other player had more than nine. The Buckeyes needed every single one of them.
