After further review: Ohio State 22 Northwestern 10

WildcatReport's Tim Chapman, a former high school football head coach, breaks down the Wildcats' loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The pass defense cemented its legacy as the best in the country. Let’s forget, for a moment, the fact that Trey Sermon ran for as many yards as he did. His success was, by and large, because the Buckeye pass offense was absolutely no threat to the Wildcats. They limited Justin Fields to 12 of 27 (44%) passing for 114 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He only had two throws that went more than 11 yards, and that was before he suffered a thumb injury late in the third. Since he’s been a starting quarterback at Ohio State, this was the lowest completion percentage he’s had, only his second multi-interception game and the lowest quarterback rating (QBR) of his career by 40.7 (out of 100). Oh, and the Wildcats did half of this defensive work without their best cover corner in All-Big Ten first-team selection Greg Newsome.

NU missed too many opportunities in the third quarter. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald alluded to it after the game, acknowledging the obvious. Up 10-6, NU moved the ball down the field and had it first-and-10 at OSU’s 11-yard line early in the quarter. After two short runs, they tried a back-shoulder fade to TE John Raine on third-and-9, and OSU LB Justin Hilliard made a great play to high point the ball and pick off the pass to stop an NU scoring drive. (Ramsey should have put over the top, as Raine had a step on Hilliard.) After Cameron Mitchell got a pick three plays later, momentarily stealing momentum right back, the Wildcats’ offense went in reverse, losing nine yards on three plays, and had to punt. A missed OSU field goal was then followed by a missed field goal by the Wildcats. That’s six to 10 points they let slip, and then, when Ohio State got a TD on the ensuing drive, Ramsey threw his second interception on just the second play of the possession. When the defense forced a three-and-out to follow, the NU offense took their drive into the fourth quarter, only to see Ramsey get stripped after an 11-yard run and turn the ball back over to the Buckeyes. It was the stretch that cost Northwestern the game.

Sermon and the run game beat down the down linemen. Coming into the contest, Sermon had 344 total rushing yards on the season, with one touchdown. He nearly matched his yardage totaled and double his touchdown count in the title game. The Wildcats were allowing just 122 yards per game rushing coming into Indianapolis, and Sermon reached that in one quarter. He did a lot of his damage with strong leg drive and power through the gaps, but a lot could be said about this Buckeye offensive line, which was, as one sports writer put it, “shoveling snow” in the second half. They were moving the Wildcat linemen out of the way and getting to the second level, making it difficult for Northwestern's terrific trio of linebackers to get good fits on him. And once he got into the third level, the defensive backs, whose focus was primarily on locking up the outside receivers, were often turned around, seeking the threat and ultimately running to catch him.

What happened to the loose confidence that swelled in the first half? The Wildcats’ offensive play-calling was brilliant in the first two quarters, confusing the Buckeye defense and throwing them off-balance by forcing them to think too much, and then hitting them with power runs and well-timed and well-executed pass plays. Ramsey was 12-of-14 for 90 yards and no interceptions, including 3-for-4 on third downs. The Wildcats were dominant, scoring on two of their four first-half possessions (which doesn’t include their one-play kneel down to go into halftime). The broadcasters even echoed the praise of this scheme. So what happened in the second half? Why did they try to get cute and outthink themselves? The excessive Cam Porter runs as a Wildcat quarterback, the inexplicable reverse to Riley Lees after it blew up completely in the first half, and then the un-Ramsey-like forcing of throws. You have to scratch your head. Why did the offensive line buckle against a defense that really didn’t do anything different, schematically, after the Wildcats made that deflating interception in the third quarter? The chemistry and trust that had shown for all but two quarters this entire season seemed to evaporate in the blink of an eye -- a Buckeye.

What does Fitz mean when he says he’s “got to coach better”? He’s gone to this well many times after a loss, and with what he’s accomplished here and what the team has done this season after such a horrid 2019, what does he think he didn’t do well? It’s been echoed across the landscape that he is a good coach -- a great coach, in fact. Sure, there may have been some minutiae that could be ironed out, but coaching wasn’t what lost the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The team did not win the West because of anyone doing it on their own, or in spite of solid leadership. We know he’s often working with a shorter sword, but he’s not afraid to go to battle with it and gets more out of his talent than anyone in the conference. The coaching, the leadership, the development is fine, Fitz. If you continue the path you’ve started -- one that is better-tailored for the collegiate level and NOT the NFL (wink) -- the desired results will ultimately follow.

Northwestern needs playmakers at the skill positions. As good a season as this was, and as close as they played the fourth-ranked Buckeyes for three quarters, the lack of game-breaking heroics at running back, receiver and quarterback was the difference here. They need that “killer”, like they had in D'Wayne Bates and Darnell Autry in 1995; or Zak Kustok and Damien Anderson in 2000; or Kain Colter and Venric Mark in 2012. The defense always plays well and, certainly, that’s the program’s footprint. But until they get that other foot that can step on their opponent’s throat, this will be a team that’s perpetually just a “good story” that can't compete against a true heavyweight like Ohio State.

Offensive game ball: #12 GR QB Peyton Ramsey. This one was tough, but we had to go with the senior grad transfer, whom Fitzgerald is already campaigning to come back for another year. Ramsey was 24 of 37 passing for 224 yards. Sure, he didn’t throw any touchdowns, two of his passes got intercepted and he fumbled once, but it was his highest passing total, second-highest completion percentage and third-best rushing game of the season. And it came against the best defense he faced all season. If you take away the three times he was sacked, he carried the ball seven times for 57 yards, including runs of 34, 11, and 9 yards. Ramsey also picked up five third-down conversions, four through the air and one on the ground.

Defensive game ball: #16 RSF FS Brandon Joseph. The All-Big Ten safety helped to cover and quiet the Buckeye passing game Saturday, highlighted by an incredible interception (more on that in a minute) and a five tackle performance which included four solo stops. He also registered a QB hurry and a pass break up on the same play, when he blitzed Fields and batted down a pass intended for All-Big Ten WR Garrett Wilson. Serious consideration also went to seniors, DE Ernest Brown and SLB Chris Bergin. Brown had five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, while Bergin had a game-high 11 tackles and half a sack.

Special Teams game ball: #36 GR P Derek Adams. The grad transfer continued to prove the value of his addition to the team this year, as he skied four punts for a 42.2 yard average, putting two inside the 20. While Adams missed on a couple more opportunities to pin the Buckeyes deep in their own territory, he also had a kick of 53 yards and generally helped keep the Buckeye offense far away from the Wildcats' end.

Wildcat Warrior: #21 RSF S Cameron Mitchell. Even before Newsome went down with a groin injury, Mitchell was making his presence known as a fifth DB. He executed a perfectly-timed blitz on third-and-goal that led to the team’s first sack in the first quarter. After Newsome went to the locker room later in the second, Mitchell perfectly read a “now” screen intended for Wilson, nearly causing a fumble had Wilson caught it. He later got an interception on the sideline in the third quarter, on the ensuing OSU drive following a momentum-swinging Buckeye pick of Ramsey in the end zone. Mitchell’s INT came after two chunk runs by the Buckeyes, who then tried to test the Wildcat Sky Team. The Cats didn’t miss a step (in pass defense, anyway) with No. 21 out there in place of an All-Big Ten corner. The best part: he’s only a redshirt freshman.

Brandon Joseph’s amazing one-handed interception to close out the first half. On second-and-5, Northwestern was defending their end zone from the 9-yard line. Fields tried to connect with his top target, Wilson, on a scissors concept, where he ran a short wheel route, rubbing off of a skinny post by Jameson Williams. Fields put good touch on it, and it likely would have been caught had Joseph not made one of the most amazing athletic plays (not hyperbole) in Wildcat history. The moment was great not only for the aesthetics, but the feeling it gave Wildcat nation to end a first half that saw the nation’s No. 1 pass defense completely dominate the nation’s second-most efficient passing attack. The play stopped a potential scoring drive allowed the Wildcats to take a 10-6 lead into halftime.

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him via Twitter: @Champion_Lit. Email him at nufbhistorian@gmail.com.