Ohio State football

The Buckeyes traveled to a simple triumph in Evanston Friday night, pounding Northwestern 52-3. Things appeared to be somewhat touchy from the get-go in the game as Northwestern's guard gave indications of having the option to baffle Justin Fields and the Buckeyes offense. Well ... for a couple of minutes, in any case. Ohio State scored a touchdown on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead however would need to punt on its next two belongings, and Northwestern dealt with a field objective to slice the shortage to 7-3 after the initial 15 minutes.

Ohio State vs. Northwestern score

Soon after that, all fantasies of a focused, energizing game immediately disseminated. The Buckeyes turned on max engine thrust in the subsequent quarter, burning Northwestern for 24 to take a 31-3 lead at halftime and they just traveled from that point. Fields had another breathtaking execution, completing with only 194 yards passing yet hurling four touchdowns. J.K. Dobbins kept having an incredible season, scrambling for 121 yards and scoring two touchdowns, including a getting score.

On edge side of the ball the Buckeyes ruled too, holding the Northwestern offense to 199 yards of offense.

The Buckeyes even overwhelmed on unique groups. Kicker Blake Haubeil penetrated a profession high 55-yard field objective to end the primary half, and punter Drue Chrisman dropped bombs with his correct foot, averaging 47.4 yards per punt on his five endeavors.

It was another altogether commanding presentation from a group that is finished only overwhelm each group it's confronted up until now. Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. This game gave another indication of why the Buckeyes are a genuine title danger. How frequently have we seen Ohio State take its foot off the gas in ongoing seasons? A year ago, it was a night game at Purdue that saw the Buckeyes fall and blow their playoff possibilities. The chances of Northwestern pulling off a comparative miracle in this game were probably nothing, yet a Friday night game out and about can be dubious for anyone. Besides, Northwestern was the main group in the nation that has made Wisconsin look mortal so far this year.

So quite possibly Ohio State may have wound up battling against the Wildcats, however it didn't. The Buckeyes scored on their first belonging, and after a minor hiccup, they ruled this game for almost every one of the hour. What's more, they did this with a tremendous standoff against Wisconsin approaching one week from now. If at any point there was an opportunity for the Buckeyes to get discovered looking past a rival and to one week from now, without a doubt this Northwestern group was the one to neglect. They didn't, however. They ruled, and that is the sort of attitude you see from a group equipped for winning a national title. Beating Northwestern will amount to nothing with regards to contrasting resumes later in the year, yet the manner in which the Buckeyes approached doing it makes me significantly increasingly positive about their capacity to arrive at the College Football Playoff.

collage football

In case I'm an Ohio State fan, I would prefer not to see Fields, Dobbins and other key players taking or conveying hits when I'm up 35 against a group that hasn't scored in excess of 30 points in a game all season.

3. Northwestern's offense stays hard to watch. Northwestern fans have been calling for hostile organizer Mick McCall's head this season. They've called for it in past seasons also. To this point, Pat Fitzgerald has would not give the fans the head they need. I respect his commitment to his partners, however something needs to change. This Northwestern offense is just not sufficient to contend in the Big Ten.

Without a doubt, I don't know what changing hostile facilitators right presently would do. From what I have seen of this Northwestern offense, it's not only a schematic disappointment. I don't have the foggiest idea whether there's a hostile organizer out there who can mystically appear in Evanston and start considering plays that lead to this group scoring 30 for each game. There's a work force issue here, as well. It's an offense with a couple of fascinating pieces - I like Drake Anderson and Isaiah Bowser - yet there is an extreme absence of playmakers on the edge. In the event that Northwestern had some more ability at the collector position, Mick McCall may resemble a superior playcaller.