Ohio State captured the Big Ten championship on Saturday afternoon in an ugly game against Northwestern, winning 22-10.
The Buckeyes started off slow and couldn't find their footing until late in the conference title game, with Trey Sermon running roughshod over the Wildcats and a couple of turnovers to leave Pat Fitzgerald's team scoreless when it was in position to get points.
On today's edition of Three Key Stats, we're looking at Sermon's dominance on the ground, the success of the secondary with two interceptions and Justin Fields' lackluster completion percentage.
Trey Sermon rushes for 331 yards
The Ohio State running back hadn't had a standout game all season, but proved his ability in the most important game of the fall yet.
Sermon rushed for 60 yards on sec carries in the first half, leading to calls for Ryan Day to turn to him more often, then busted through the Northwestern defensive front in the second half. With Master Teague seemingly dealing with an ailment on the sidelines, Sermon became the prominent back for the game and he delivered. In the second half alone, he exploded for 271 yards on 22 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Trey Sermon with the record breaker. What a game. pic.twitter.com/2zLHXHktQl
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 19, 2020
As everybody now knows, Sermon also broke the single-game rushing record, which was previously held by Eddie George.
The Defense comes through with two interceptions
In a game where the defense didn't exactly shut down the Wildcats' offensive attack for the duration, the secondary delivered two much-needed picks for Ohio State in the second half. On both interceptions, Northwestern was driving and in Ohio State territory, and the secondary successfully delivered. Justin Hilliard got the first interception, and Josh Proctor followed up with a pick of his own.
What a massive, massive play by the sixth-year player. pic.twitter.com/lpgCilTHTq
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 19, 2020
Both plays provided massive momentum swings for Ohio State in a game where it felt that the team couldn't get anything going on offense outside of the run game with Sermon.
Justin Fields completes 12 passes on 27 attempts
The Northwestern defense successfully slowed down Fields, and made it exceedingly difficult for the Buckeyes to complete any passes throughout the game.
With Chris Olave unavailable for this game, the passing attack never got off of the ground. Justin Fields attempted 27 passes throughout the afternoon and only completed 12 of them. He also threw two interceptions as Ohio State looked unorganized and out of rhythm. Saturday featured Field's lowest completion percentage of his Buckeye career and showcased some chinks in the armor of the Buckeyes' offense.
@NUFBFamily takes it right back! pic.twitter.com/89EpvtrVxa
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 19, 2020
With the win over Northwestern, Ohio State has finished the season 6-0, winning the Big Ten Championship, and now waits for the College Football Playoff selection on Sunday. Regardless of the Buckeyes' seeding if they are placed in the playoff, Ryan Day has work to do.
