Five Things to Know About Northwestern, Ohio State's 2020 Big Ten Championship Game Opponent

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

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NOON – SATURDAY, DEC. 12 LUCAS OIL STADIUM INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

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The Wildcats earned the Big Ten West’s berth in the conference title game for the second time in three years by winning all but one of their seven regular-season games this year, including head-to-head wins over every other team in its division except Minnesota, who canceled its game against Northwestern due to a COVID-19 outbreak in its program.

As a result, this year’s Big Ten Championship Game will be a rematch of the 2018 Big Ten Championship Game, when Ohio State beat Northwestern 45-24.

The Wildcats are currently 14th in the College Football Playoff rankings, but how much of a threat do they actually pose to the fourth-ranked Buckeyes in Ohio State’s quest to win a fourth straight Big Ten title? It’s time to take a closer look at how Northwestern won the West and what you should know about the Buckeyes’ upcoming opponent.

They Win By Keeping Scores Low

Northwestern’s formula for winning games this season has been pretty simple: Don’t let the other team score more than 20 points. That’s how the Wildcats have won all six of their games this season, and they currently rank second in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision with only 14.6 points allowed per game.

The problem for the Wildcats, as they prepare to face an Ohio State offense that’s far more explosive than any they have faced yet this season, is that’s how they have to win.

With the exception of their season opener against Maryland, which they won 43-3, Northwestern hasn’t scored more than 28 points in any of its last six games, including a 29-20 loss to Michigan State.

Ohio State has scored at least 38 points in all five of its games this season, so Northwestern is going to have to be able to either find a way to score more points than it has in any of its last six games or limit the Buckeyes to fewer points than they’ve scored in any game this year.

Their Passing Offense Isn’t Dangerous

It’s fair to say Northwestern’s passing offense has gotten better this year, because it really couldn’t have been any worse than last year. With a revolving door of quarterbacks that included Aidan Smith, Hunter Johnson and Andrew Marty after TJ Green was injured in the season opener, the Wildcats legitimately had the worst passing offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2019, ranking 130th out of 130 teams in passing yards per attempt (4.5) and passer rating (84.5).

With the arrival of Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey as a graduate transfer this offseason, Northwestern’s offense has been more competent. But the Wildcats still aren’t a team that are going to pose a real threat to Ohio State’s pass defense.

Northwestern hasn’t thrown for more than 239 yards in any of its seven games this season, and it still ranks just 106th nationally in passing yards per game (180.9). The Wildcats don’t make many big plays through the air, ranking dead last in the Big Ten with only two 30-plus-yard passing plays and zero passing plays of 40 yards or more.

The Wildcats have had a couple of big games running the ball this year, accumulating 325 rushing yards against Maryland and 411 rushing yards this past weekend against Illinois, but they had also been held under 100 rushing yards in their previous three games before the Illinois game.

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Senior Linebackers Everywhere

One thing that both teams in this week’s Big Ten Championship Game have in common: They’re loaded with experience, including three senior starters, at linebacker.

Much like Tuf Borland and Pete Werner have seemingly been in the middle of Ohio State’s defense forever, so too have Paddy Fisher and Blake Gallagher at Northwestern. Fisher is now a fourth-year starter for the Wildcats, having earned at least second-team All-Big Ten honors in each of the past three years, while Gallagher is a third-year starter. Both of them have 65 total tackles this season, tying them for the team lead and fourth in the Big Ten, while Gallagher also ranks third in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss.

Like Baron Browning for the Buckeyes, a third senior linebacker joins them in the starting lineup in Chris Bergin, who’s in his second year starting for the Wildcats and has recorded 58 total tackles in seven games this year.

“They’ve played so much football, it’s amazing. I feel like they’ve been there forever,” Ryan Day said last week on his radio show. “And they play that way. They’ve seen how teams attack them, they know how to quickly adjust.”

Many Interceptions

With 12 interceptions in seven games this season, Northwestern has the second-highest rate of interceptions per game among all FBS teams behind only Indiana. Redshirt freshman safety Brandon Joseph is tied for the lead among all FBS players with five interceptions, while seven other Wildcats each have one pick.

Though Justin Fields doesn’t usually throw interceptions, he threw three against Indiana, making Northwestern’s similar success intercepting passes with regularity this season a threat that shouldn’t be ignored going into this week’s game.

“They have some pretty good guys on the back end,” Day said last week. “They’ve got some young guys who’ve done really well.”

Brandon Joseph is tied for the Football Bowl Subdivision lead with five interceptions this season. (Photo: David Banks – USA TODAY Sports)

A Lopsided Series

Ohio State has been mostly dominant against Northwestern, with a 63-14-1 all-time record against the Wildcats. The Buckeyes have been especially dominant in recent history, winning their last eight consecutive matchups against Northwestern, and 32 of the last 33 games between the two teams.

Northwestern’s only win against Ohio State in the last 49 years came in 2004, when they earned a 33-27 upset win over the Buckeyes in overtime.

As aforementioned, this will be the second time Ohio State and Northwestern meet in the Big Ten Championship Game, and just Northwestern’s second overall trip to the Indianapolis since the first Big Ten Championship Game in 2011.

Ohio State earned a 52-3 win on Northwestern’s home field last year.