A grade card on Ohio State’s could-have-been-better, could-have-been-worse 24-20 win over Northwestern:
OFFENSE: C+
Ohio State’s first three possessions produced a touchdown, a field goal and another touchdown. The last two times it had the ball it scored the game-winning touchdown and moved the ball well enough to run out the clock.
On the down side, Ohio State punted on five consecutive possessions in the middle of the game. And you don’t have to look any farther than Urban Meyer punting twice in Northwestern territory, including on fourth and seven from the Wildcats’ 36-yard line, to see that his confidence in OSU’s offense (and its defense) is less than total.
J.T. Barrett completed 21 of 32 passes for 223 yards, but did not have a touchdown pass and only one of his completions went for more than 20 yards. The only true deep ball for Ohio State was a 34-yard throw to K.J. Hill during the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
The receiver position opposite Noah Brown continues to be a question mark. Brown, with five catches, was the only wide receiver with more than one catch for OSU. The offensive line cut down its sacks allowed to one from the six it gave up at Penn State, but still has room to improve.
DEFENSE: B
Northwestern scored 38 points on Iowa and the Hawkeyes’ defense is regarded as the strength of its team, so allowing 20 points was a pretty solid effort by OSU’s defense.
Austin Carr — a former walk-on wide receiver — put on a clinic on how to get open and then catch the ball, though, when he grabbed 8 passes for 158 yards. The Buckeyes’ defense on him improved as the game went on. Only one of his catches came in the fourth quarter.
Justin Jackson came into the game as the leading rusher in the Big Ten, but other than a 22-yard run on the opening drive, he did not break any long runs on his way to 76 yards on 17 carries.
Northwestern converted on fourth down twice and on third-and-long twice during scoring drives, continuing a trend from the Penn State game of OSU not shutting down opposing offenses in some key situations.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Cameron Johnston had a punt blocked or deflected for a second week in a row, so there is some work to be done in that area. Kicker Tyler Durbin’s 35-yard field goal makes him 10 of 11 this season, with the only miss coming on a blocked kick at Penn State.
Ohio State’s return game was not productive. But on the plus side, Northwestern’s return yardage against the Buckeyes was minimal.
OVERALL: B-
Instead of playing tight when Northwestern threatened to tie the game in the fourth quarter, Ohio State met the challenge. It was able to put the loss to Penn State in the past.
But what the Buckeyes did was not enough to inspire confidence that it is ready to beat Michigan, win the Big Ten championship game and get an invitiation to the College Football Playoff. They might need to do more just to beat Nebraska on Saturday.
