After further review: Ohio State 52 Northwestern 3

We give you the 3-2-1 on Northwestern's 52-3 loss to Ohio State and hand out some awards.

Like WildcatReport's headline stated, “Northwestern is no match in a rematch with Ohio State”. Northwestern was outplayed, outmanned, outgunned, outrun, outcoached and outlasted by what coach Pat Fitzgerald called the “Ohio State onslaught.” The Buckeyes were pushed by the Wildcat defense on their first two scoring drives, but five of their final six took three plays or less. True, Wildcat morale may have been pretty badly bruised toward the end of the game, but Fitzgerald-coached teams do not show quit, so we’re chalking it up to this OSU team being that good. The Buckeyes scored 24 points in the second quarter alone and were 50% better than Northwestern in nearly every statistical category, and even more so in total yards, yards per play and the most important stat: points scored. They didn’t make many mistakes and when they did, the Cats couldn’t pounce on opportunity fast enough.

The Wildcat defense couldn’t get off the field. Ohio State was 8 for 14 on third-down conversions, and on seemingly every single conversion the deep out-route was open. Every… single… time. Fitzgerald talked with his players and coaches about getting OSU off the field on third down, saying that accomplishing such a feat would be (almost) like scoring a defensive touchdown, knowing how potent and capitalistic the OSU offense is. NU’s third-down defense has been up to par for most of the season (ranked 37th in the nation) but their numbers against this Buckeye team were not nearly as good as they’ve been, and certainly not good enough to have any chance of pulling an upset. Fitzgerald didn’t claim any breakdown, but owned up to being out-schemed by the OSU offensive coaches, giving his traditional “hats off to them” quote and claiming they’ll take a look at the film and work to get it fixed.

The red-zone defense was not up to task . Coming into the game, the Wildcats ranked 10th in the country in red-zone defense, allowing just a 67% scoring rate inside the 20-yard line. The Buckeye brutes took it to the Wildcats, converting on all five of their red-zone trips - all of them touchdowns. When it came time to buckle down on the Buckeyes, it just looked as though NU was stuck in slow motion, while Ohio State ran their plays with little or no impediment. Fitzgerald acknowledged the red zone struggles Friday, claiming they’ll need to go back and look at the film to see where the breakdowns were, but implying that they had simply run into a team on a mission, which was executing with peak precision.

What’s the answer for the passing woes? It’s beginning to be like the chicken-or-the-egg question: is the problem at quarterback, or are the receivers not making themselves available at the right times to take advantage of opportunities? We believe Fitzgerald when he says that these guys truly care and want it so badly, but the execution is just not there right now. We saw a couple of drops in the game Friday, which could have at least helped with building confidence, moving the chains and just gaining yardage. So what’s the solution to getting out of this passing funk? Everyone’s got their theory, but it would start with seeing some improvement.

What’s the team’s direction from here? The Wildcats have lost four in a row, all Big Ten games. They still haven’t seen a quarterback on their (active) roster that can throw and complete anywhere close to 60% of his passes to help keep an opposing secondary out of the box. The offense had just four drives of six plays or more- none of them resulting in touchdowns. The run game has poked its head out at times, but the team is often too far behind on the scoreboard to do anything but try to throw the football - and that function of their offense just hasn’t been able to produce at all yet. The defense is playing relatively well, but since they’re not getting much of any help from the group that’s assigned to score points and they’re not scoring any defensive touchdowns themselves, it’s hard to figure where the team will be headed in the second half of the season.

There is hope. Former Northwestern linebacker and captain David Nwabuisi once said “perseverance builds character; character builds hope.” Fitzgerald, his coaches, and his players know the challenge ahead of them and we have to think they embrace it. That’s the culture that Fitzgerald has built at Northwestern. He even reminded fans that “there’s a lot of ball left” and encouraged everyone to “flush the first half.” There are certainly some winnable games coming down the pipe. They welcome their rival, Iowa, for Homecoming next week, a team that Fitzgerald loves to beat whether he will publicly admit it or not. Then comes a trip to Indiana, followed by home games against Purdue, UMass and Minnesota, who many feel is being overvalued despite a 7-0 record. Then they have Illinois in the game for the Land of Lincoln Trophy, which could also have a trip to a bowl riding on the outcome. Offense often times can be an easier fix than defense, so it’s really just a matter of time (and timing) for the Wildcats. They have to win five of their last six games to become bowl-eligible, so they have almost zero margin of error.

Offensive game ball: Offensive Line

Through their first six weeks, OSU averaged nearly five sacks per game and allowed just 82 rushing yards per game coming into Friday night’s contest. In this game, against what some have called the best team in the country, the Wildcat O-line only gave up a single sack to the menacing Buckeye pass rush and helped pave the way for 157 net rushing yards (181 total). That’s pretty impressive, considering the 52-3 score, which often indicates defensive domination by the victor. The starting crew of, from left to right tackle, Rashawn Slater, Nik Urban, Jared Thomas, Sam Gerak, and Gunnar Vogel, held their own against All-American-candidates Chase Young and Jashon Cornell on the Buckeye front. They used grit and fundamental technique to help neutralize the athleticism they faced in front of them from one of the country’s best defenses.

Defensive game ball: CB Greg Newsome.

Newsome was tasked with going against Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor on the outside all night and did a pretty good job, all things considered. Newsome, a sophomore, turned in a career-high seven tackles - all of them solo - which was third-most on the Northwestern defense. He also made an impressive pass break-up in the first quarter on a post route down the middle of the field. Newsome, who currently ranks second in the Big Ten in PBUs, continues to be a nuisance for opposing receivers, shutting down his side of the field and giving the Wildcats an all-Big Ten corner still with two years of eligibility remaining. His future is bright.

Special Teams game ball: PK Charlie Kuhbander.

Kuhbander divided the posts with a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter - his seventh on the season - and that was really the lone special teams highlight. Raymond Niro and Kyric McGowan did a pretty good job getting downfield to bottle up the OSU return men, but with Kuhbander, an Ohio native, logging the only points on the Wildcat side of the scoreboard, it seems most fitting to give him the award for this facet of the game.

Wildcat Warrior: RB/WR/ST Kyric McGowan.

McGowan showed his versatility on Friday night. The junior started the game as a running back and took a handoff on the first NU offensive play for 13 yards. He had another later in the quarter and also registered a catch for 13 yards. In all, his three touches resulted in two first down pick-ups, providing a couple of sparks for that beleaguered NU offense. He also showed solid play on special teams, highlighted by a solo tackle that ignited his teammates and the crowd, even if for just a brief moment.

Even with the game well-in-hand for the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter, Joe Gaziano continued to grind and earned his 25th-and-a-half sack, which now puts him just two and a half behind Casey Dailey for first place all-time in program history. This marked the third straight game Gaziano has registered a sack and his fourth game with one this season.

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.